Another ENDO has passed and as I’m sure you noticed if you made it to San Francisco, it was a roaring success, with attendance records being broken almost every single day. Th e sessions were nothing short of amazing in terms of the amount of information that was shared. For me, it was a great opportunity to meet so many of you in person, and I can assure you that I returned to the East Coast with more than my fair share of story ideas and sources for a dozen years’ worth of Endocrine News!
And speaking of timely information, this issue is loaded with stories about topics currently in the forefront of our national consciousness. On page 14, Terri D’Arrigo delves into the controversies surrounding statins, those cholesterol-lowering drugs that are prescribed to over 20 million of us. Th ese drugs are being blamed for a litany of side eff ects including memory loss and diabetes. Physicians are now determining whether these alleged “wonder drugs” are as wonderful as fi rst thought. Are the possible side eff ects worth it? In many cases it simply boils down to what’s worse, a heart attack or diabetes? Rest assured, this is an issue that won’t be going away any time soon.
As the baby boomer population lives longer, the incidence of chronic maladies is also on the rise. None is more prevalent than diabetes, with an estimated 22 million people suff ering from it in 2012. To no one’s surprise, the fi nancial burden of this disease is almost $250 billion, according to a study by the American Diabetes Association. In “Price Gouging” on page 17, Kelly Horvath comes to the realization that the solution to stop these spiraling costs rests with the physician as well as with the patient. Th e old adage about “an ounce of prevention” has never been more relevant.
Apparently diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend anymore; they’re also a sperm’s. Former Endocrine News associate editor Jacqueline Ruttiman writes about research that shows how diamond-coated petri dishes improve the survival rate for sperm used in IVF procedures, thus increasing the success rates for parents-to-be (page 20). Of course, the addition of diamonds to the mix is only going to increase an already costly procedure, but hopefully it will reduce the number of procedures, thereby lowering costs in the long run.
Be sure to let me know what you think of the topics we’re covering this month. Your thoughts and opinions and any feedback you want to off er are vital in ensuring the continued success and future growth of Endocrine News. You can always find me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
Mark A. Newman
Managing Editor, Endocrine News
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