Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. While offering state-of-the-art care for Diabetes, the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism provides national leadership in scientific research and advocacy. The Center is an active participant in major national clinical studies and testing new approaches while giving patients in Southern California the opportunity to be among the first in the world to benefit from new treatments. The Center’s investigators are advancing the field of pediatric diabetes and endocrinology while improving the treatment of children around the world.
Dr. Geffner is the Principal Investigator of The TODAY Trial, which is a multi-institutional study designed primarily to compare three treatments for pediatric subjects between 10 - 17 years of age with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study will compare three treatment groups:
- metformin alone versus metformin plus intensive lifestyle
- metformin alone versus metformin plus rosiglitazone
- metformin plus intensive lifestyle versus metformin plus rosiglitazone
The hypothesis is that metformin plus lifestyle will be the most efficacious approach.
Research is at the heart of the innovative treatments in the Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center. By conducting a wide range of investigations, we are better able to develop new strategies in the battle against diabetes. Our world-class physician-scientists are faculty members at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, where they engage in collaborative research. In addition, we participate in basic science studies within The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
TrialNet: Type 1 Diabetes Study
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is one of 18 medical centers in the United States participating in the Type I Diabetes TrialNet, which is dedicated to understanding the autoimmune process that leads to type 1 diabetes, preventing the disease and stopping its progression.
TrialNet is screening relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to find out if these family members are at risk for developing diabetes. First-degree blood relatives (siblings, children or parents) who are one to 45 years of age, as well as second-degree blood relatives (cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, grandparents or half-siblings) who are one to 20 years of age may be screened to determine their risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Screening involves a simple blood test for the presence of diabetes-related autoantibodies that may appear years before type 1 diabetes develops. Early detection of type 1 diabetes may improve your blood sugar control and reduce your chances of developing complications.
For TrialNet screening, please call 323-664-8568 or visit www.DiabetesTrialNet.org.
TODAY Clinical Trial/Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers have learned a great deal about treating type 2 diabetes in adults, but much less is known about how best to treat this form of diabetes in youth. The TODAY (Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth) study is the first clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to focus on type 2 diabetes in youth – and the first aimed at determining the effects of intensive lifestyle changes. Nationwide, about 750 children and teens ages 10 to 17 will be enrolled in the five-year trial.
Francine R. Kaufman, MD, director of the Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center, serves as national study chair of the TODAY trial. Mitchell E. Geffner, MD, director of fellowship training in the Children's Hospital Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. is principal investigator of the TODAY trial.
The TODAY study randomly assigns patients to three groups, with two groups receiving medication only, and the third receiving medication plus lifestyle intervention therapy, including physical activity and weekly meetings with a Physical Activity/Nutrition Leader.
The goal is to determine how well and for how long each treatment approach controls blood glucose levels.
For information about the TODAY trial, call 323-361-6052.
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