San Francisco — The annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association kicked off with a bang here yesterday. While the country’s big press emphasized new results from two studies of using drugs to reduce our blood glucose levels, the hot topic here is exercise.
I’m at the ADA’s 68th Annual Scientific Sessions, a huge convention of about 14,000 diabetes professionals from around the world. From glancing at the name badges of others here, I wouldn’t be surprised if most are from other countries. Hosting this meeting — which most people here just call “the ADA” — is theMoscone Convention Center in downtown San Francisco. This foggy city on the bay is cooperating so far with beautifully sunny weather in the high 60s and low 70s — except for a very cold outdoor reception yesterday evening.
Browsing Category
Diabetes Developments
For years many people that I know have been waiting to use Abbott’s FreeStyle Navigator continuous glucose monitor. As long ago as February 2005 I wrote in Diabetes Health magazine that, “The FreeStyle Navigator Continuous Glucose Monitor is coming.”
Preliminary studies had indicated that it might raise the accuracy bar. And now, according to a study to be published in this month’s issue of Diabetes Care it really will be more accurate than the competition. The Navigator will be more accurate where it counts than the three other monitors that the study evaluated.
Just before lunch this afternoon I checked out the new FreeStyle Freedom Lite blood glucose monitoring system from Abbott Diabetes Care. The company’s public relations firm, Fleishman-Hillard, was nice enough to send me one of the first of these cute little meters and 10 test strips.
“We live in a culture of low targets,” writes Hana, one of my regular correspondents in England who has diabetes. For example, her nurse told her that that walking for half an hour three times a week was enough exercise to make a difference, and it doesn’t have to be fast walking. “I do a lot more than that,” she says.