Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Diabetes, Endocrinology
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, FACP, Director, Diabetes Management Program, Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
In part 1 of this series, we looked at the overwhelming numbers of people with diabetes or prediabetes. In part 2, we looked at the critical role of structured education. Now, in part 3, we will look at a potential intervention.
Remember, over 40% of the US population over the age of 20 has either diabetes or prediabetes. Both are progressive stages of the same disorder and both have enormous risks attached to them. The solution to a problem of this enormity can best be approached by a partnership of private philanthropy, governmental support and institutional buy-in. (Although things may change, it does not look like there will be a federally mandated national diabetes program in the near future.) The underlying premise is that great institutions do great things. (more…)
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Diabetes, Diet and Nutrition, Endocrinology
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, FACP, Director, Diabetes Management Program, Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
It was the month of June 1959. I was in the last 30 days of my physician training internship, rotating through pediatrics. A 12-year old girl was admitted with type 1 diabetes mellitus. At that time, the only available tools for diabetes management were testing the urine for glucose and ketones. Other blood tests, including blood glucose, could take hours to perform. Insulin for injection consisted of mixed animal insulin (cows and pigs) and was much longer-acting and less predictable than the type we use today. The patient was a remarkable young woman and took things in stride.
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Diabetes, Endocrinology, Health Tips
When I was in high school in the late 1940s, I lived a few blocks away from the West Side Tennis Club. This was the home of the United States Championships, which ranked with those of Australia and Wimbledon. It was a different, more amateur era for tennis — players wore all white, including sneakers, and just as white were the tennis balls — yet the play was no less intense than that of today. Back then, there were no “tie breakers,” so matches could go on for hours — a challenge for any player with type 1 diabetes (once known as juvenile diabetes). (more…)
Mar 10, 2014 | Diabetes, Endocrinology, Health Tips, News
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, Director of the Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
One of today’s greatest public health issues is the growing number of people with diabetes mellitus, most commonly type 2 and most often (but not always) associated with excess weight. To appreciate the scope of the problem, it is important to understand the true nature of the disease. (more…)
Nov 6, 2013 | Common Illness, Diabetes, Endocrinology, LGBT Health, Women's Health
Polycystic ovary syndrome, commonly known as PCOS, is one of the most common female endocrine disorders.
A syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms that occur together to characterize a particular condition. The definition of PCOS includes irregular periods, signs of excess androgenic hormones (masculine hormones) such as acne and excess hair growth, and an exclusion of other causes of an elevation of androgens. Although the name indicates the presence of cysts on the ovaries, not all women with PCOS have cysts (and not all women with ovarian cysts have PCOS). (more…)
Oct 10, 2013 | Diabetes, Endocrinology, Popular
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, Director of the Friedman Diabetes Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center.
The wonderful actor Tom Hanks said a mouthful when he told late-night talk show host David Letterman that he was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Tom Hanks to me is everyman, best characterized in his movie “Saving Private Ryan.” He looks like a regular guy and, from what I can tell from the general media, he is—not too heavy, not too thin (except for during movie roles he played as an AIDS patient and a castaway), and apparently realistic about life and work in general.
What Hanks said that is so important is that his blood sugar was somewhat elevated when he was in his 30s, meaning he had prediabetes. He was also wise enough to know that the eventual progression to clinical diabetes was inevitable. As with everything else about Hanks, this news was a piece of life and he is dealing with it. (more…)
This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, FACP, Director, Diabetes Management Program, Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
