Subjects with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who self-monitor their blood glucose levels more frequently and use the results to adjust treatment regimens can achieve improved glucose control, according to a collection of state-of-the-art reports that comprise a Special Supplement to the June 2008 issue (Volume 10, Supplement 1) of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www. liebertpub. com). The supplement is available free online at http://www.liebertonline.com/dia

"Increased frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been shown to significantly improve glucose control. SMBG not only complements A1C results, it guides the patient for self-management of diabetes at home on a day-to-day basis," writes Editor-in-Chief, Satish K. Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, in a supplement overview.

Spanning the clinical, practical, and economic implications of SMBG, the supplement includes papers probing the technology behind state-of-the-art glucose meters and self-monitoring techniques, SMBG in pregnancy, and SMBG in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Shoba Subramanian, MD, and Irl Hirsch, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, review the evidence supporting frequent SMBG, recent advances in glucose meters and SMBG data processing and how it can be applied for more effective type 1 diabetes management, as well as the potential barriers to use of frequent SMBG that limit its applicability, in an article entitled, "The Utility and Recent Advances in Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Type 1 Diabetes."

Focusing on type 2 diabetes, Nalinee Poolsup, PhD, from Silpakorn University, Nakhon-Pathom, Thailand, and Naeti Suksomboon, PharmD, PhD and Warisara Jiamsathit, MScPharm, from Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, conclude that SMBG can yield a significant decrease in HbA1C levels in patients with type 2 diabetes when the results of SMBG are used to adjust therapeutic regimens. They describe the benefits of SMBG in "Systematic Review of the Benefits of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients."

In a forward-looking report entitled, "The Future of Self-Monitored Blood Glucose: Mean Blood Glucose Versus Glycosylated Hemoglobin," Roger Mazze, PhD, from the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, emphasizes the importance of SMBG in monitoring diurnal glucose patterns, rather than relying solely on HbA1C or mean glucose levels, which can be misleading indicators of therapeutic efficacy.

Posted by dlife at May 29, 2008 10:39 AM