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5th July 2007 Diabetech, LP, a company that is extending diabetes care beyond the reach of health care practitioners, announced at the annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) conference that over 84% of the type 2 diabetes trial participants reduced their blood glucose levels as measured by a highly accurate hemoglobin A1c laboratory test by an average of 1.1 points; a significant improvement in blood sugar control. As a speaker at ADA Scientific in the symposium entitled, "Beyond Health Care Practitioners - Diabetes Health Care Extenders", McMahon presented the data showing that twenty-six adult patients with type 2 diabetes participated in this 12 month study. As is typical in Phase 2 translational research, the patients were not randomized nor was there a control group. In addition, trial participants rated their satisfaction with the program content and devices as being very high. The trial is being conducted under the oversight of an Institutional Review Board and Diabetech says no adverse events have been reported. According to the ADA, over 21 million people in the US have diabetes. In addition, another 54 million are at risk of developing diabetes in the near future while 1 in 3 children born in the year 2000 are likely to develop type 2 diabetes at some point during their lifetime. The A1c is the gold standard for measuring the severity of diabetes as well as indicating the impact of self-management between visits. The A1c range for people without diabetes is approximately 4.0 to 5.5 depending on the specific test method used. The ADA guidelines indicate 7.0 as the target A1c level for people with diabetes while the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommend a target of 6.5 with talk about lowering the target to 6.0. Consistently elevated blood glucose levels lead to complications including kidney failure, nerve damage, blindness and increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. "After the first year or two of working with type 1 diabetes patients, we suspected that our unique capabilities incorporating proprietary wireless & mobile diagnostic devices, rules engine technology and patient-centric social networks could also be used to improve the quality of care for patients with type 2 diabetes" stated Kevin McMahon, President & CEO of Diabetech. "Considering the reduced biometric data involved with day to day management of type 2 vs. type 1, we decided to emphasize diabetes education over glucose pattern analysis in this trial. For example, in response to automated system analysis of the patient's real-time personal health record, QuickTips educational messaging is sent to the patient and other members of the team based on clinical algorithms in the GlucoDYNAMIX diabetes intervention system. As always, using the system to engage the patient and their social network was a key contributor to this very exciting results data." Following enrollment and establishment of the patient's profile, patient participants were given Diabetech's market leading GlucoMON wireless glucose meter for automated and accurate blood glucose data collection, automated GlucoDYNAMIX blood glucose logbooks from their online personal health record (PHR), QuickTips lifestyle and diabetes educational messages, HomeCheck hematology screening and A1c laboratory tests at enrollment and every 90 days thereafter, activity guides and more. The company claims that minimal human intervention from program staff and practitioners in this trial also demonstrates the efficiencies gained using automated technology instead of weekly phone calls from highly skilled professionals who are also in limited supply.
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