52 PRACTICE TRENDS A P R I L 2 0 1 1 • C L I N I C A L E N D O C R I N O L O G Y N E W S

Index to Measure Diabetes in U.S.An online database of 30,000 maps,charts and graphs will give users a new,comprehensive picture of the prevalenceand cost of diabetes in the United States,said it sponsors. The U.S. Diabetes Index,available through the Web site USDI Re-port (www.usdireport.com), breaksdown prevalence of the disease and oth-

er measures county by county across theUnited States. “Diabetes has geographi-cal features to it; that is, blood glucoselevels, prevalence, rates of hospitaliza-tion vary by geography,” Gary Puck-rein, CEO of the National MinorityQuality Forum, an index sponsor, said ina statement. The U.S. Diabetes Index“allows us to direct our resources to the

most affected areas so that those livingwith the disease in high-risk communi-ties are no longer subjected to the pat-terns of avoidable hospitalizations andpremature death that currently afflictthem.” The other index sponsors are theCongressional Black Caucus Foundationand its Health Braintrust initiative.

HEART Bill ReintroducedA bill intended to end the shortage ofwomen-specific data on cardiovascularconditions has been introduced again bySen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) andSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The

Heart Disease Education, Research andAnalysis, and Treatment (HEART) forWomen Act would require health datathat has been reported to the federalgovernment to be broken down by sex,race, and ethnicity. The bill (S. 438),which the senators have introduced inpast congressional sessions without suc-cess, would also require the secretary ofHealth and Human Services to submit anannual report to Congress on women’saccess to quality care for cardiovasculardisease. “Unfortunately, a majority ofwomen and even some physicians are un-familiar with the symptoms, diagnoses,and dangers of heart disease in women,”Sen. Stabenow said in a statement.

New Plan for Diabetes ResearchThe National Institute of Diabetes andDigestive and Kidney Diseases announceda 10-year plan to combat type 1 and 2 di-abetes by guiding diabetes-related re-search. “By setting priorities and identi-fying the most compelling researchopportunities, the strategic plan will guideNIH, other federal agencies, and the in-vestigative community in efforts to im-prove diabetes treatments and identifyways to keep more people healthy,” saidNIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, in astatement. The plan focuses on 10 dia-betes research areas, including the rela-tionship between obesity and type 2 dia-betes, autoimmune mechanisms of type1 diabetes, and the biology of beta cells.

Drug Risk High for Older AdultsDrugs such as pain relievers and anxietyand insomnia medications were thecause of about one-fourth of emergencydepartment visits by adults aged 50 yearsor older for adverse drug reactions in2008, according the Drug Abuse Warn-ing Network. Among medications actingon the central nervous system, narcoticpain relievers accounted for 9% of theyear’s 1,112,000 drug-related emergen-cies in this population and nonnarcoticpain relievers made up nearly 8%. In aseparate category, psychotherapeuticdrugs accounted for 5% of the emer-gencies. The study appeared in TheDawn Report, published by the Sub-stance Abuse and Mental Health Ser-vices Administration. Nearly one-third of50-and-older adults going to emergencydepartments for drug reactions in 2008were admitted to the hospital.

Court Passes on ‘Pay for Delay’The Supreme Court has refused to con-sider whether drug companies violate an-titrust laws when they pay generic com-petitors to stay out of the marketplace.The high court’s rejection of the case inMarch allowed companies to continuethe practice, known as “pay for delay.” Inthis case, Bayer AG, which makes the an-tibiotic Cipro, paid generic competitorBarr Laboratories $398 million to notmake a version of the drug. Leading upto the ruling, such deals have come underincreased scrutiny. Last year, the FederalTrade Commission condemned the deals,and estimated that they will cost con-sumers about $35 billion over the nextdecade. There is also legislation pendingin Congress (S. 27) to ban pay for delay.

–Naseem S. Miller

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