HCPLive Five at ADA 2024

Among healthcare practitioners, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) represents the foremost diabetes-centric organization and their annual scientific sessions serves as the premier annual showcase for the latest advancements in care. The 84th ADA Scientific Sessions were no exception, as the field welcomed news and updates from landmark trials and major companies.

As part of our on-site coverage of the meeting, the editorial team of HCPLive Endocrinology was in Orlando conducting interviews and live coverage. In this HCPLive 5, we recap our video interviews and podcast episodes related to coverage of ADA 2024, including videos centered around the CATALYST trial, the ADA’s new Obesity Association, SURMOUNT-OSA, and more!

CATALYST Raises Red Flag on Hypercortisolism in Type 2 Diabetes, with Ralph DeFronzo, MD

Billed as the largest study of its kind, the first half was designed to assess the prevalence of hypercortisolism in people with difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes. With a population of more than 1000 patients, results presented at ADA demonstrate hypercortisolism was present among 24% of patients.

During ADA 2024, we sat down with study investigator and leading subject matter expert in endocrinology, Ralph DeFronzo, MD, chief of the Diabetes Division at UT Health San Antonio and creator of the Ominous Octet, to discuss how the knowledge of hypercortisolism’s prevalence in type 2 diabetes should influence management.

Diabetes Dialogue: ADA Introduces Obesity Association, with Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD

Few topics outside of cancer have received the same share of attention within the public consciousness as obesity has since the turn of the century. In June, US healthcare celebrated the 11th year anniversary of the American Medical Association’s recognition of obesity as a disease. A representation of the growing recognition within the community, at ADA 2024 the ADA announced the formation of their newest division: the Obesity Association.

In this special edition Diabetes Dialogue: Technology, Therapeutics, & Real-World Perspectives, hosts are joined by Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, the chief scientific and medical officer of the ADA, to discuss this new division of the ADA, plans for Standards of Care, and how the group will leverage advocacy and education to improve management of obesity.

Atul Malhotra, MD: Tirzepatide for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity

SURMOUNT-OSA was among the most highly anticipated trials to come from ADA 2024. A trial of patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA),study 1 included patients who were unable or unwilling to use positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy and study 2 included patients who were and planned to stay on PAP therapy during the duration of the trial.

Results indicated tirzepatide could reduces OSA severity by up to 30 events per hour and contributed to remission in up to 51% of patients. As part of our ADA 2024 coverage, we spoke with principal investigator Atul Malhotra, MD, professor of medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and director of sleep medicine at UC San Diego Health, for more perspective on the results and how they inform use of tirzepatide among these patients.

Diabetes Dialogue: ADA 2024 Diabetes Technology Recap

During their time on-site in Orlando at ADA 2024, hosts Diana Isaacs, PharmD, an endocrine clinical pharmacist, director of Education and Training in Diabetes Technology, and codirector of Endocrine Disorders in Pregnancy at the Cleveland Clinic, and Natalie Bellini, DNP, program director of Diabetes Technology at University Hospitals Diabetes and Metabolic Care Center, recorded 6 episodes with leading experts.

Between these recordings, they found themselves busy leading sessions and product theaters, but also absorbing new information from major studies as well as interacting with the latest in diabetes technology. Following their return from the meeting, hosts convened for a diabetes technology recap from ADA 2024. In the episode, hosts discuss news from Omnipod, MiniMed 780G, and the Tandem mobi then take a deep dive into technology in the pipeline, including Sequel’s Twiist and Abbott’s ketone monitors.

What to Know About Cannabis Use and Diabetes, with Halis Akturk, MD

Although the community is adding to the existing knowledge base in real-time, the effects of cannabis use, in general but especially, across varying patient populations represents a major knowledge gap and area of concern for clinicians. As a result of the legalization movement within the state, Colorado has become a hub for this type of research.

At ADA 2024, Halis Akturk, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes at the University of Colorado, led a session titled “The Highs and Lows of Cannabis Use in Diabetes—Behavioral and Psychosocial Considerations”. A leading expert on the subject with various published works on the effects of cannabis in type 1 diabetes, we sat down with Akturk to discuss the session and what he would want his colleagues to know about use of cannabis in these patients.