Ochsner Medical Center, La.

— -- I'm Dr. Lawrence Blonde. I'm the Director of the Ochsner Medical Center in New OrleansOchsner Diabetes Clinical Research Unit in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Almost 21 million Americans presently have diabetes. Most people with diabetes don't achieve recommended treatment goals for control of blood sugar, and, therefore, are at increased risk for the development of chronic complications of diabetes like eye disease, kidney disease, increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

The Ochsner Diabetes Clinical Research Unit has focused on new therapies and new ways of delivering health care for people who have diabetes. We were involved in the trials of most of the new blood glucose lowering therapies that have become available in the last decade. Our department has developed a novel, intensive insulin program for seriously-ill, hospitalized patients and are actively studying the impact of this program.

Several years ago, we conducted a study that demonstrated that a more organized way of delivering out-patient diabetes care, using a team of health care professionals, could be associated with an improvement in blood sugar control and an improved quality of life for people with diabetes. Recently, we collaborated with Dr. Wood in our research department to conduct a pilot study looking at the impact of a simple, safe, home-based exercise program and showed its potential to reduce cardiovascular risk factors in people with diabetes. We're working to refine this intervention and to further study its potential to help people with diabetes.