PRESS RELEASE 07 August 2003, Bangalore
"INSULIN PUMP CLINIC"
(First certified program in India) At SAGAR APOLLO HOSPITAL, Bangalore "Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes" at Sagar Apollo Hospital, Bangalore, will be dedicating India's first certified "INSULIN PUMP CLINIC" on 07 August 2003, Thursday at 12.00 pm, in the Hospital premises. Sri SMH Kirmani, international cricketor and national role model will dedicate the Clinic and Dr. Premachandra Sagar, CEO and Vice Chairman, Sagar Apollo Hospital, will preside over the event. The program will be led by Dr. SS Srikanta and Dr. A Sharda (Senior Consultants) and their diabetes health care team. The progam will benefit people with diabetes taking insulin injections, who are motivated and wish to further enrich their health and productivity.

"For the first time in my life, I know that I will die from something other than diabetes." Carl Aframe, MiniMed Insulin Pump User, Diabetes Forecast, August 1994.

What Is An Insulin Pump?

An insulin pump is a beeper-sized device that delivers insulin through a flexible plastic tube attached to the body. It mimics a healthy pancreas by offering insulin delivery in two ways. First, it provides a rhythmic, continuous drip of insulin, which is known as the basal dose, all day long. (It is possible to set several different basal doses depending on your needs.) Second, the pump also allows you to add an additional amount of insulin when you eat. This extra dose is called a bolus. You request your bolus with a simple push of a button. You usually determine the size of the bolus by estimating the amount of carbohydrate you will be eating.

If it can improve your diabetes control, and if you can accommodate yourself to it, the pump might just be the best diabetes therapy for you. Traditionally, insulin pump therapy has been used mainly for the young and for those with Type 1 diabetes. It's time to break that mindset.

All of the benefits of the pump enjoyed by people with Type 1 diabetes also apply to people with Type 2 diabetes who use insulin.

Available To All

"I believe that all techniques for improved diabetes control should be available to everyone who can benefit from them. After all, we are all blood brothers and sisters under the skin, and all of us should have the best care available to keep our diabetes under control. And with diabetes, control is the name of the game. If you are interested in trying the pump, talk to your doctor." Steven V. Edelman, MD, is professor of medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of California San Diego Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Edelman is in charge of the Diabetes Care Clinic at the Veterans Hospital, which is responsible for 4,000 people with diabetes, mostly older patients with Type 2 diabetes. He is also founder and director of a nonprofit organization called Taking Control of Your Diabetes. Edelman has Type 1 diabetes and has been on an insulin pump since 1981.

Intensive Diabetes Management

Intensive diabetes management refers to the routine use of more than two shots of insulin per day (or insulin pump therapy). It also includes frequent blood glucose monitoring (four or more times per day). It requires careful adjustment of food intake. Frequent contact with the healthcare provider is often necessary. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) research proved that sugar control "closer to normal" helps to prevent the complications of diabetes. More individuals are selecting intensive diabetes management. The goal of intensive management is to keep the blood sugars closer to normal than can be done with one or two injections per day. For intensive therapy to be safe, frequent blood sugar tests are needed. When people tell us they are ready for intensive management, we often test their commitment by first asking them to do four blood sugar tests per day for one month. It is pointless to recommend intensive management until people decide that they are ready and willing. Insulin pumps have become safer and more popular in recent years.

Insulin: Gods greatest gift to mankind

Insulin is one of the greatest gifts of God to mankind (and all animals). Without insulin life is not possible even for a short time. Since its isolation and 'discovery' by man in 1921, the hormone insulin has saved millions of lives world over, and added millions x millions years of healthy and useful lives to other people. In this achievement, insulin has likely surpassed all other life saving 'miracle' medicines in the world, including vaccines and antibiotics. Thus, it is not surprising that insulin as a biological molecule (and related research) has single handedly won more nobel prizes (half a dozen, and more to come) than any other. Hence, this gift of God needs not to be scared of, but cherished, worshipped and revered.

What Is Insulin?

Inside the pancreas, beta cells make the hormone insulin. With each meal, beta cells release insulin to help the body use or store the blood sugar (glucose) it gets from food. In people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer makes insulin. The beta cells have been destroyed. They need insulin shots to use glucose from meals. People with type 2 diabetes make insulin, but their bodies don't respond well to it. Some people with type 2 diabetes need diabetes pills or insulin shots to help their bodies use glucose for energy.

Insulin cannot be taken as a pill. The insulin would be broken down during digestion just like the protein in food. Insulin must be injected into the fat under your skin for it to get into your blood.

Insulins differ in how they are made, how they work in the body, and price. Insulin is made in labs to be identical to human insulin, or it comes from animals (pigs).

For further information please contact

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DIABETES HELP LINE

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Dr. S S Srikanta, MD (AIIMS), [PhD], FEDM, (Duke Univ, Joslin Diab Ctr, Harvard Med Sch, USA) and Dr. A Sharda, MD, DNB, MRCP, FEDM, (U Calif, Henry Ford, USA; MCGill U, Canada; Leeds, UK) Senior Consultants, Endocrinology Diabetes, Sagar Apollo Hospital. Bangalore.