The American Thyroid Association released their new Guidelines for managing thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. The long-awaited guidelines incorporate new findings from a wide range of studies into 101 recommendations. Main areas that have seen major updates include role of molecular markers in diagnosis, imaging frequency for follow-up, indications for I-131 treatment, risk assessment / prognosis, and treatment of advanced disease. The guidelines are here: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/thy.2015.0020
Author: Misha Diden
New Tools Calculate Absolute Risk for Blindness, Amputation in Adults with Diabetes
According to research in The BMJ, two new algorithms can accurately calculate the absolute risk during a 10-year period for developing blindness or needing limb amputation, two potentially serious complications for men and women living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The risk calculator takes into account multiple factors including age, type and duration of diabetes, smoking status, HbA1c, BMI, BP, hypertension, and known CVD. Here is the link to an online version of the calculator: http://qdiabetes.org/amputation-blindness/index.php
Insulin Degludec Now FDA-Approved for Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
On September 25th, the FDA approved Tresiba (insulin degludec / Novo Nordisk), making it the first new basal insulin to be approved in ten years. This is a once-daily, long acting basal insulin. The half-life is 25 hrs and it is active for up to 42 hours. One benefit of Tresiba is that the patient is not required to take it at the same time every day, although “patients are still encouraged to take it around the same time every day”. The approval was based on two clinical trial programs – BEGIN, which showed non-inferiority to comparators in A1c reduction, and DEVOTE, the cardiovascular safety program. Read the press release from Novo and additional information about Tresiba: www.tresibapro.com.
Endocrine Society Releases New Interactive Guide to the Endocrine System
The guide, “Journey Through the Endocrine System”, uses 3-D animation to provide an overview of all endocrine-related organs and their function. A mobile app version will be released in early 2016. The guide is available here: http://www.hormone.org/hormones-and-health/the-endocrine-system.