Seven million in UK have prediabetes An estimated seven million people in the UK have prediabetes (or impaired glucose regulation), according to Diabetes UK. The charity is hoping to raise … Continue reading In brief
Seven million in UK have prediabetes
An estimated seven million people in the UK have prediabetes (or impaired glucose regulation), according to Diabetes UK. The charity is hoping to raise public awareness that this condition can usually be reversed and has launched its ‘Get Serious’ campaign to encourage people to make healthy lifestyle changes. It also recommends that healthcare professionals highlight the seriousness of prediabetes and how those affected can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes. Recent figures show that more than 145,000 new cases of mainly type 2 diabetes were diagnosed in the past year.
ADVANCE insights
New data from the ADVANCE (Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease) study, presented at the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Congress in Montreal, Canada, showed that intensive blood glucose control using a gliclazide-modified release (MR)-based regimen reduced the combined risk of microvascular and macrovascular events, primarily through reductions in the risk of diabetic nephropathy. There was also a trend towards a reduction of major cardiovascular events.
Health Claims Regulation
The European Commission (EC) has set up a new regulation on nutrition and health claims on food to review claims that a food category or one of its constituents can significantly reduce a risk factor in the development of a human disease.
Plant stanols are amongst the first disease risk claims it has authorised, confirming that they have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol, according to the manufacturers of Benecol®. It is hoped the new EC initiative will help consumers make informed choices about which foods actually have proven health benefits.
CHMP recommendation for telmisartan
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for the approval of telmisartan (Micardis®) for the reduction of cardiovascular morbidity in patients with a history of coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease or type 2 diabetes with documented target organ damage.
This followed a review by the CHMP of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND clinical studies. Telmisartan is set to be the only angiotensin receptor blocker with this indication according to its manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim.
Clinicians asked to share hypertension experiences
All healthcare professionals are being asked to share their experiences in treating essential hypertension with others clinicians across Europe in the SHARE study. “Despite well established regional and European guidelines treatment practices, treatment success rates vary widely from country to country in Europe but are always suboptimal,” explained Professor Neil Poulter (Imperial College London and International Centre for Circulatory Health), the UK representative on the SHARE Steering Committee. “It is hoped the study will identify trends and improve practice to reflect guidelines and others’ successes.” Participating in the study takes just 15 minutes and anyone interested should visit www.SHARE-hypertension.com. The study is being supported by Daiichi-Sankyo and results will be published in 2010.
Saxagliptin launched in UK
Saxagliptin (Onglyza™) has been launched in the UK for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults as an add-on therapy with metformin, a thiazolidinedione or a sulphonylurea. In an extensive clinical trial programme, saxagliptin, was shown to improve glycaemic control, with no increased risk of side-effects such as weight gain and hypoglycaemia.
‘Work with heart’ was the theme for this year’s World Heart Day designed to encourage healthier lifestyles in the workplace. The World Heart Federation, The World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum has called on governments, employers and workers to introduce “workplace wellness programmes” to help save lives as well as increase productivity. World Heart Day also highlighted how heart disease and stroke are not ‘rich country’ diseases, as popularly believed. Over 80% of deaths currently from cardiovascular disease occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Correction
The supplement circulated with the last issue of the journal (Br J Cardiol 2009;16 [suppl 3]) ‘Multi-management of ischaemic heart disease: do we have the COURAGE of our convictions?’ contained an error in table 1 on page S6. The third column in this table, carrying the heading PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) should have been labelled OMT (optimal medical therapy). We apologise for this error. The correct table can be found online at www.bjcardio.co.uk.
