Health Expert Dr. Fran Cogen shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/651280/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/651280/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/651280/index http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/153383/basal-diabetes Tue, 29 May 2012 15:12:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen According to recent media publications, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of Levemir (insulin detemir) for Type 1 diabetes in children ages 2 to 5 years. According to Novo Nordisk, Levemir, although approved for use in older children and adults for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, is now the first FDA approved basal insulin analog for younger children. Currently there are only two types of basal insulin on the market for... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/153383/basal-diabetes http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/153165/social-jet-lag Mon, 21 May 2012 13:45:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen Once again, while listening to National Public Radio, I heard a new category of "jet lag" that is not related to travel. It’s called "social jet lag." Till Roenneberg of The University of Munich seems to have hit upon something quite relevant to nearly all generations--as we all know, there is an incredible amount of research in the identification of risk factors that lead to obesity and ultimately the possibility of the development of... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/153165/social-jet-lag http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152868/children-today Fri, 11 May 2012 11:39:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen The New England Journal of Medicine recently published (4/29/12) the results of the TODAY study (Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth). Unfortunately, the results were not encouraging. As everyone is slowly coming to realize, childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. As such, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in childhood, particularly in minority populations due to familial risk factors, is... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152868/children-today http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152747/degludec-basal Mon, 07 May 2012 13:28:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen Prior to 2001, there were only three basal insulins that were used in combination with either regular or rapid acting insulin. NPH and Lente were intermediate acting insulin (duration 10-12 hours) along with Ultralente (duration 24-36 hours). These basal insulins had peaks that could increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Presently, only NPH is available and is generally used with regular or rapid acting insulin in conventional split mixed insulin... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152747/degludec-basal http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152455/hope-production Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:28:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen We have talked about the "Gold Medalists" of Joslin Clinic--those people with diabetes who lived long lives and passed away from natural causes. The beta cells of those gold medalists were examined, and much to the surprise of all, a small percentage were still producing insulin! This is a very exciting paradigm insofar as that for many years it was believed that once the beta cells were attacked by the autoimmune response, eventually all would... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152455/hope-production http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152251/adolescence Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:17:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen Each developmental stage in the life of a child is fraught with unique challenges. When compounded with a chronic illness such as diabetes, additional concerns complicate normal development. Previous blogs have discussed issues regarding diabetes management throughout the stages of child development. However, the biggest challenge is for the family caregivers and healthcare providers working with children who are on the cusp of emerging... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/152251/adolescence http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151886/diabetes-animal Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:33:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen I have always loved dogs. I knew I was destined to work with little creatures (in my case-the human kind) when I had my first real job at 9 years of age. Back in the 1960s, many doctors and dentists saw patients in their homes and my dentist was no exception. Inside the home of Dr. C was a miniature poodle named Pepi who always managed to escape due to the constant opening and closing of doors at the office. He was very devious and would run... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151886/diabetes-animal http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151747/technology Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:45:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen The "artificial pancreas" will soon be a reality. Lately there has been an inordinate amount of publicity in light of the FDA's decision to increase the pace in the development of a safe product. I thought I would take the opportunity to review recent evidence-based literature leading up to the FDA's welcome news.   In Diabetes Care, Volume 34, September 2011, Choudhary et. al, published "Insulin Pump Therapy with Automated Insulin... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151747/technology http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151363/prescription Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:52:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen "I heard it on NPR," is a common refrain when discussing something of importance in the news. As I was driving to one of my outpatient locations around the Washington Capital area beltway, I was so distracted listening to a report about diabetes and prescription medication (rather a lack of prescription required) that I almost missed my exit, and nearly had to go around the entire beltway again!   My first thought was: "Great, no more... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151363/prescription http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151183/type-2-diabetes Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:33:00 -0400 Dr. Fran Cogen At Children's National Medical Center, we have an approximate total of 1,650 patients from our region. Eighty-nine percent of our patients have type 1 diabetes and the remainder has type 2, maturity onset diabetes of youth (MODY), cystic fibrosis related diabetes, steroid or medication induced diabetes and permanent neonatal diabetes. The vast majority of the remaining 12 percent are those patients with type 2 diabetes.   The presentation... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/151183/type-2-diabetes