For those who still didn’t know or forgotten. Around five years ago, I was diagnosed with the dreaded illness called Diabetes. My dad who passed away last 1999 was later diagnosed having one and now my mother is managing the diseases at the age of 84.
Dr. Leni Iboleon and Dr. Abraham
So, Way back 2011, when my weight rose to around 180 lbs, my health began to go down-hill and the only things that were high are the medical test I underwent and these are, High cholesterol, high blood pressure, high uric acid and high blood sugar. The five day stint in the hospital was just a start of a work up to regulate these alarming test results. It was also a turning point for me to once and for all, make my life better for the sake of my family.
And that’s the day I started to go nuts in running and other outdoor fitness activities I can get myself involved in. After almost five years, my condition changed radically, and I’m no longer in medications except for my elevated blood sugar, in which I still take Glemiperide 1mg. With a grade of six in my last HBA1C test, coupled with a balanced diet and running, I’m hoping that my minimal dosage of this med will no longer increase, and will live a long and fruitful life, without any complications in any of my internal organs most especially the heart.
Statistics shows that Heart Attack (Mio-Cardial Infraction) is the leading cause of death here in the Philippines and also in the world. But many of didn’t know that most of these heart problems are connected to diabetes, most especially in older patients. Surprisingly, many of the diabetic meds available today, though very effective in bringing down blood sugar, has an adverse effect to the heart as well. These meds also has no or limited effect in regulating blood sugar in case that it becomes very low where a patient will go hypoglycemia, which is equally as bad as having high blood sugar. That is why a lot of “Media” (Mi-diabetes) I know bring some candies in their pocket just in case they need to counter the effect of insulin or other diabetic meds.
In 2003, a team of medical researchers and scientists from University of Oxford and Duke University Research Institute initiated intensive studies on diabetic medications, known as TECOS (Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with SITAGLIPTIN), in 14,671 test subject in 38 countries. The research study aims to know the long-term effect of Sitagliptin to the Cardiovascular conditions of diabetic patients. Sitagliptin is a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor (okay, that’s a mouth full) or DPP-4 inhibitor.
Sitagliptin under the brand name of Junovia was developed by MSD Pharmaceutical, a global leader in healthcare which is subsidiary company of Merck & Co., Inc. Yesterday, MSD Philippines staged table discussion event that was held at Romulo Café in Makati. The event was graced by notable experts in the field of Diabetes and Cardiovascular healthcare and these are Dr. Abrahan and Dr. Leni Iboleon.
According to these experts, Sitagliptin (DPP-4) is a breakthrough in blood sugar management because it does not increase the combined events such as death due to heart attack, stroke and hospitalization due to angina. Moreover, Sitagliptin DPP-4 controls the hormones incretine, which are released from the gut whenever we eat. These incretins blood hormones help control blood sugar by signaling the pancreas to release appropriate amount of insulin that are needed by the patient. At the same time, incretins also direct the liver to regulate sugar production to prevent hypoglycemia. To learn more about Sitagliptin (Junovia), visit your friendly Endocrinologist and know if your heart needs an extra care.
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