Newswise — May 25, 2011 – (BRONX, NY) – Fifty years ago, adult-onset diabetes was relatively rare, affecting less than one percent of the adult population in the United States. Today, more than 25 million Americans over the age of 20 battle the disease – an alarming 11 percent of the population. The condition has been renamed type 2 diabetes because nearly a quarter of a million children also have it. The Bronx has been especially hard hit, with approximately 150,000 adults and children affected.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will help shed light on the causes and treatments of this devastating condition during the latest installment of its ongoing Community Health Series. The event, "Diabetes: Addressing the Epidemic Among Us," which will be held on Wednesday, June 15 at 5 p.m., is free and open to the public. Food and refreshments will be provided prior to the presentations.
"More than one in 10 adults in the Bronx have diabetes," noted Norman Fleischer, M.D., chief of endocrinology at Einstein and Montefiore Medical Center, who will host and moderate the event. "We think it's important to arm members of the community with the information they need to help prevent and manage the condition and stay healthy."
Three Einstein researchers, who also are physicians at Montefiore, will discuss various aspects of the disease, beginning with Rubina Heptulla, M.B.B.S., professor and chief of pediatric endocrinology at Einstein and Montefiore. She will address the rapid rise in childhood obesity – which impactsnearly 1 in 4 children in New York City – and its impact on health, including type 2 diabetes.
Joel Zonszein, M.D., professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore, will follow, explaining the mechanisms, symptoms and risks of diabetes and exploring current treatments.
Jill Crandall, M.D., director of the Diabetes Clinical Trials Unit at Einstein, will round out the presentations by reviewing major diabetes trials conducted at Einstein and explaining how these studies have informed treatment options for patients.
The evening will end with a question and answer session, moderated by Dr. Fleischer.
The program takes place Wednesday, June 15, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Mazer Building on Einstein's Jack and Pearl Resnick campus, located at 1300 Morris Park Avenue in the Bronx. Free, accessible parking is available in the lot on the corner of Van Nest and Newport Avenues. For more information or to RSVP, please e-mail [email protected] or call 718.430.4186.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva UniversityAAlbert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2010-2011 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 256 Ph.D. students, 122 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 375 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has 2,770 fulltime faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2009, Einstein received more than $135 million in support from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving five medical centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island – which includes Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein – the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu.
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