Sanofi-aventis supports the ADA Educational Program 'Standing Together against Diabetes' addressing regional specialists to manage diabetes

The main aim of the meeting was to familiarize physicians with the new ADA guidelines for the treatment of diabetes.

All attendees were certified by the ADA to present this program in their home country.

The new ADA treatment guidelines mark the first time that the association has developed a treatment algorithm to help physicians choose the most appropriate therapies for lowering blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Presentations where made by some of the world's most eminent medical professionals in the field.

Participants received the latest evidence based information in the management of diabetes in addition to participating in case-based workshops with other regional experts.

"I am very glad to have been part of this meeting and to share the concerns of many specialists from the Middle East region and Africa. Type 2 diabetes is a growing epidemic in the Middle East region, it is our duty as specialist to increase awareness, share knowledge and to explore all means to manage this disease appropriately and efficiently." said Dr Ali Khalil, a Senior Consultant in Endocrinology and Diabetes, at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, who attended the meeting.

The ADA treatment guidelines

The guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes was developed on behalf of the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, in order to help guide health care providers to choose the most appropriate treatment regimens from an ever-expanding list of approved medications.

The authors continue to endorse the major features of the guidelines, including:
• the need to achieve and maintain glycemia within or as close to the nondiabetic range as is safely possible
• the initiation of lifestyle interventions and treatment with metformin (first medication given to diabetic patients) at the time of diagnosis
• the rapid addition of medications and transition to new regimens when target glycemia is not achieved
• the early addition of insulin therapy in patients who do not meet target levels.

"Initiating insulin immediately after metformin (if patients are not well controlled) will allow better control of the disease," said Dr. Huda Ezzedin Ibrahim Mustafa, Specialist Endocrinology and Diabetes, under the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City-Cleveland Clinic. "There is a general misconception about insulin therapy among the patients in Middle East; they might assume that only advanced cases of diabetes succumb to this kind of therapy, in addition to fear of injections and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level). This is when awareness and education is our key weapon to fight against this growing disease".

Basal insulin therapy is an effective and convenient way of starting insulin as it lowers the entire glucose profile. An ideal basal insulin supplementation should cover the 24-hour basal insulin requirements with once-daily administration, it has no pronounced peak whatever the dose and it minimize the risk of hypoglycaemia.