FDA approves pediatric use of Dexcom’s G4 Platinum continuous glucose monitoring system
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the expanded use of the Dexcom G4 Platinum Continuous Monitoring System for patients with diabetes ages 2 to 17 years.”
“We are thrilled with the FDA’s approval of our Dexcom G4 PLATINUM System in the pediatric population. Daily management is relentless, and parents can now have greater peace of mind that a child’s diabetes is under control, whether the child is at home, away at school, or participating in activities or sports.”
Update: via email from DexCom: 2-4-14
The G4 PLATINUM (Pediatric) receiver works with the existing G4 PLATINUM sensor and transmitter. No need to order different sensors or transmitters. The components of the receiver are the same. It has the same settings, alerts and it calculates and displays your sensor glucose readings the same way as the receiver you have now. The Dexcom G4 PLATINUM (Pediatric) Receiver has two additional screens at the ‘Start Sensor’ and ‘Low Alert’ Menu options. These screens are reminders that you should use your blood glucose meter for any treatment decisions and not rely on CGM only to detect hypoglycemia.
Links
Diabetes Community: News and Events
from diabetesartday.com - Diabetes Art Day is a web-based initiative for the Diabetes Online Community to “tell a story” about life with diabetes though creative visual expression. It’s a way for us to tell our stories so we can connect and share with each other and with our loved ones. It’s a way to generate diabetes awareness outside of the DOC by sharing artwork on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and community websites.
I want to strongly encourage you to check out Diabetes Art Day which happens on February 3, 2014.
from Spare a Rose: Lack of access to insulin is the most common cause of death for children with diabetes in many countries around the world. In fact, in some parts of the world, the estimated life expectancy of a child who has just developed diabetes could be less than a year. *This Valentine’s Day our community can help change that. Through the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign, we raise awareness and donations for Life for a Child, an International Diabetes Federation program which provides life-saving diabetes supplies, medication, and education that children in developing countries need to stay alive.Spare a Rose, Save a Child is simple: buy one less rose this Valentine’s Day and donate the value of that flower to children with diabetes. Your loved one at home still gets flowers and you both show some love to children around the world who need it.One rose, one month of life. A dozen roses, a year of life for a child with diabetes. Find out how you can help.
Diabetes in the News
Introducing Google's smart contact lens project
Prototype from Google's Smart Contact Lens Project
“We’re in discussions with the FDA, but there’s still a lot more work to do to turn this technology into a system that people can use.”
from Google: "We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second.
We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds.
It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease." full story
Olympic cross-country skier Freeman masters mountains, diabetes
Freeman decided then that he was going to try to compete in 2014, even though he would be 33 at the time.
Kris Freeman was diagnosed at age 19 with Type 1 diabetes
from Sports Illustrated: "Kris Freeman was approaching the 12th kilometer of the 30 km pursuit at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when he noticed the first sign: An uphill climb seemed strangely difficult. He had been skiing well to that point, and had moved into a top 20 position. Then his body started shaking and wobbling. Freeman knew that roughly a kilometer ahead he had a coach waiting for him with a sports drink. But before he could make it, he collapsed in the snow." full story
Is there connection between Type 1 diabetes and cleanliness?
Some researchers suspect there may be a connection between Finland’s cleanliness and the incidence of the disease there.
from Washington Post: It may come as a surprise that Finland — one of the least polluted, wealthiest countries, where average life expectancy is among the world’s highest — has the highest rate of Type 1 diabetes. Each year, there are about 58 cases diagnosed per 100,000 children; in the United States there are 24 cases per 100,000, according to the International Diabetes Federation. full story
diaTribe Petition: Please help
from the diaTribe petition at change.org
At a recent meeting of Oregon’s Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC), the state panel recommended reducing access to test strips for people with type 2 diabetes on the Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan (OHP). A new plan would severely restrict access to strips for type 2 patients unless they are newly diagnosed, take insulin, or meet a few other special requirements. For people not taking insulin – which covers the vast majority, about 70% of all type 2 patients – those with an A1c above 8.0% would be entitled to one test strip per week, while those with an A1c below 8.0% would not be provided with any test strips at all.
This recommendation would severly limit test strips and set a dangerous precedent for other states looking to cut overall health care costs. It's difficult to understand how the HERC imagines people with an A1c below 8.0% will manage their diabetes without test strips, and a test strip every week is hardly meaningful for patients or providers. Furthermore, any cost reductions will likely be more than canceled out in the long-term due to increased complications, hospital visits, and operations that inevitably folow poor control. The decision is currently scheduled for December 5. If you are a person with diabetes or a caregiver, we encourage you to sign this petition and write to Oregon Health Authority’s Director Dr. Bruce Goldberg and the members of the HERC about the importance of having access to test strips and self-monitoring blood glucose.
Read more about the issue and what you can do at diaTribe.org
Your participation made a difference! Read the update from diaTribe.
Oh Canada... It's DexCom time!
The DexCom G4 continuous glucose monitor is now available in the true north! I'm not exactly sure how DexCom got their device ready for sale in Canada. Perhaps the transmitter will be wearing a tiny little hockey sweater? Who knows...
Getting started looks pretty straightforward. Go to dexcom.com/en-ca and then click "Contact Distributor". The link takes you to www.animas.ca, the company that is handling the distribution for Canada. The Animas page doesn't have any DexCom specific links. I would use the "Contact Us" tab at the top right of the Animas page and ask how to get started.
I found this contact information for Animas Canada at the bottom of the Canadian DexCom page linked above.
Local Dexcom DistributorAnimas Canada200 Whitehall DriveMarkham, OntarioL3R0T5General inquiries: 1-855-293-5083 orCustomerCare@Animas.caProduct support: 1-866-406-4844
I'm so excited for my Canadian friends, you are going to love having a CGM!