NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK!  

These questions are created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. They are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES Exam. 

Click here to take the question of the week >>  February 6th, 2018

Want more questions like this? Really test your knowledge and prepare with our NEW 1 – Year Subscription to our entire Online University course catalog.

Download our CDCES Coach App to receive our Question of the Week on your mobile device.  It’s fun!

 

NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK!  

These questions are created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. They are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES Exam. 

Click here to take the question of the week >>  Jan 30th, 2018

Want more questions like this? Really test your knowledge and prepare with our NEW 1 – Year Subscription to our entire Online University course catalog.

Download our CDCES Coach App to receive our Question of the Week on your mobile device.  It’s fun!

 

Question of the Week & Rationale 

Our “Question of the Week” is created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. The questions are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES® Exam.

To sign up to receive the question of the week, download our free CDCES Coach App or join our Facebook Page. 

This week’s Rationale: Question of the Week – January 23rd – test your knowledge before seeing answer below! 

What a perfect way to information share and bring new concepts to light. We appreciate our community of diabetes educators and the opportunity to keep learning together! 

 

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Question:

A new biosimilar insulin, lispro (Admelog) is now FDA Approved. Which of the following statement is true about biosimilar insulins?

a. Biosimilar has the same meaning as generic

b. Biosimilar means that the product is highly similar

c. Biosimilar means the structure is slightly different, but the function is similar

d. Biosimilar means the function is slightly different, but the structure is similar

Correct Answer: b. Biosimilar means that the product is highly similar

Rationale: As the patents expire on our commonly used insulins, plan to see more biosimilar insulin products on the market. Since these biosimilar insulins are usually priced more competitively, expect to see insurance companies transferring patients to these less expensive insulins.  Patients may feel uncomfortable with this change and providing them with information on bio similarity standards may help ease concerns.   Below are excerpts from the FDA Website on the definition of biosimilar and highly similar.

What is a biosimilar product?

A biosimilar is a biological product that is highly similar to and has NO clinically meaningful differences from an existing FDA-approved reference product.

What does it mean to be “highly similar”?

Minor differences between the reference product and the proposed biosimilar product in clinically inactive components are acceptable. For example, these could include minor differences in the stabilizer or buffer compared to what is used in the reference product. Any differences between the proposed biosimilar product and the reference product are carefully evaluated by FDA to ensure the biosimilar meets FDA’s high approval standards.

A manufacturer developing a proposed biosimilar demonstrates that its product is highly similar to the reference product by extensively analyzing (i.e., characterizing) the structure and function of both the reference product and the proposed biosimilar. State-of-the-art technology is used to compare characteristics of the products, such as purity, chemical identity, and bioactivity. The manufacturer uses results from these comparative tests, along with other information, to demonstrate that the biosimilar is highly similar to the reference product.

As mentioned above, slight differences (i.e., acceptable within-product variations) are expected during the manufacturing process for biological products, regardless of whether the product is a biosimilar or a reference product. For both reference products and biosimilars, lot-to-lot differences (i.e., acceptable within-product differences) are carefully controlled and monitored.

Read more about this on the FDA Website

Download our updated FREE Injectables PocketCard

Or join our Medication Update webinar! 

Meds Update 2018– Earn 1.5 CE – $29

Live webinar session February 19th, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. PST

Feeling overwhelmed by all the new recently approved diabetes medications? Two bio-similiar insulins are now available and another GLP-1 RA was just approved. Plus, 2 new combo oral meds are now available.

 

If you want cutting edge information on the latest pharmacology and hospital glucose management, we highly recommend this Meds Update.

 

NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK!  

These questions are created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. They are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES Exam. 

Click here to take the question of the week >>  Jan 23rd, 2018

Want more questions like this? Really test your knowledge and prepare with our NEW 1 – Year Subscription to our entire Online University course catalog.

Download our CDCES Coach App to receive our Question of the Week on your mobile device.  It’s fun!

 

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Question of the Week & Rationale 

Our “Question of the Week” is created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. The questions are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES® Exam.

To sign up to receive the question of the week, download our free CDCES Coach App or join our Facebook Page. 

This week’s Rationale: Question of the Week – January 16th – test your knowledge before seeing answer below! 

What a perfect way to information share and bring new concepts to light. We appreciate our community of diabetes educators and the opportunity to keep learning together! 

 

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Question:

Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a newly approved GLP-1 Receptor Agonist with a few unique features. Which of the following statements is true about Semaglutide (Ozempic)?

1. It is available as an oral medication or injectable
2. It reduces A1c less than other GLP-1 RAs
3. It is associated with greater weight loss than other GLP-1 RAs
4. It can be administered via pump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Correct Answer: c. It is associated with greater weight loss than other GLP-1 RAs

Rationale: Semaglutide (Ozempic,) as an adjunct to diet and exercise for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.

Currently only available as an injection, this once weekly (GLP-1) receptor agonist will be available in 0.5-mg and 1.0-mg doses, via a dedicated prefilled pen device. 

Semaglutide might be more effective than some of its competitors. In the five SUSTAIN efficacy trials, semaglutide reduced hemoglobin A1c by 1.5 to 1.8 percentage points. And, Semaglutide was associated with a 4.5- to 6.4-kg weight loss, more than the other available GLP-1 RAs.

For more info:

Download our updated FREE Injectables PocketCard

Or join our Medication Update webinar! 

 

Meds Update 2018– Earn 1.5 CE – $29

Live webinar session February 19th, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. PST

Feeling overwhelmed by all the new recently approved diabetes medications? Two bio-similiar insulins are now available and another GLP-1 RA was just approved. Plus, 2 new combo oral meds are now available.

 

If you want cutting edge information on the latest pharmacology and hospital glucose management, we highly recommend this Meds Update.

 

NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK!  

These questions are created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. They are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES Exam. 

Click here to take the question of the week >>  Jan 16th, 2018

Want more questions like this? Really test your knowledge and prepare with our NEW 1 – Year Subscription to our entire Online University course catalog.

Download our CDCES Coach App to receive our Question of the Week on your mobile device.  It’s fun!

 

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Question of the Week & Rationale 

Our “Question of the Week” is created weekly by Coach Beverly to cover a variety of Diabetes related topics. The questions are designed to keep you current and prepare you for the CDCES® Exam.

To sign up to receive the question of the week, download our free CDCES Coach App or join our Facebook Page. 

This week’s Rationale: Question of the Week – January 9th – test your knowledge before seeing answer below! 

What a perfect way to information share and bring new concepts to light. We appreciate our community of diabetes educators and the opportunity to keep learning together! 

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Question: The 2018 ADA Standards of Care include updates to the Cardiovascular Disease and risk management section. Which of the following accurately reflects updates to this section?

a. All hypertensive patients with diabetes should monitor home blood pressure.

b. The new B/P goal is 130/80 to match the American Heart Association’s goal.

c. All patients with type 1 diabetes should be started on an ACE Inhibitor.

d. Beta blockers should be avoided for all patients on insulin therapy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Correct Answer:  a. All hypertensive patients with diabetes should monitor home blood pressure.

Rationale: 

CV Disease Risk Management – ADA 2018 Update

After the American Heart Association set a new B/P target of 130/80, the diabetes world held their breath to see if the American Diabetes Association (ADA) would follow suit and lower it’s BP target. 

The ADA maintains the B/P target of 140/90, based on a comprehensive review of studies measuring the cost/benefit of blood pressure control in people with diabetes. They specifically summarized the ACCORD BP trial findings (see below paragraph*).

Current ADA Recommendations are as follows:

Hypertension, defined as a sustained blood pressure more than or equal to 140/90 is a major risk factor for both CV and microvascular complications. Numerous studies demonstrate that antihypertensive therapy reduces CV events, heart failure, and microvascular complications.

Screening and Diagnosis Recommendations

• Blood pressure should be measured at every routine clinical visit. Patients found to have elevated blood pressure (more than or equal to 140/90) should have blood pressure confirmed using multiple readings, including measurements on a separate day, to diagnose hypertension. 
• All hypertensive patients with diabetes should monitor their blood pressure at home.

As far as answers c and d, they are wrong for the following reasons:

1.  The ADA no longer recommends automatically starting people with Type 1 Diabetes on an ACE Inhibitor if there is no hypertension or proteinuria.
2. For patients with diabetes post MI, beta blockers are the B/P medication of choice.  Pts with diabetes on insulin can still experience diaphoresis when hypoglycemic (breakthrough symptom). However, they should be encouraged to check BG on a regular basis and notify provider if BG is running lower than targets.

For more info, see our CV Risk Management Blog Post