Nemours Juvenile Diabetes Study Group Receives Clinical Research Award

The Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville, is proud to announce that Nemours team members have been honored for their research surrounding new treatments of juvenile diabetes.

Tim Wysocki, PhD, Larry Fox, MD, Nelly Mauras, MD, Kim Englert, RN, BSN, Joe Permuy, MSN, and Tina Ewen, MA, were part of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Study Group chosen to receive the prestigious 2011 Mary Tyler Moore/S. Robert Levine, MD Excellence in Clinical Research Award given by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The annual award, presented on May 19, recognizes leadership “in providing next generation technologies that are helping patients live healthier lives as we drive towards a cure.” 

During the JDRF-funded research, 450 patients at ten centers using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and finger stick monitoring were followed for periods of six months to track blood sugar levels and health outcomes related to quality of life, disease control, and satisfaction with monitoring devices.

By showing glucose levels at all times of the day, including during sleep and in between meals, CGM has proven to be more helpful in improving the quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes, compared to the finger stick method of monitoring. 

It was particularly useful for adults and children ages 8-14, but less helpful for young people 15-25 years (an age range in which compliance with treatment and health maintenance is often challenging).

As Dr. Wysocki, Director of the Center for Pediatric Psychology Research, explained it, the difference between the finger stick and the CGM is like the difference between a snapshot and a video.

Rather than readings at isolated points in time, patients using continuous glucose monitoring have more information about what is happening throughout the day, allowing them to better manage their disease, to spot trends, and to be prompted when glucose levels are dangerously high or low.

"This was one of the most challenging studies to conduct for us in Endocrinology. Recruiting and caring for over 40 kids with diabetes wearing sometimes 2 devices, their pumps and their glucose monitoring for a whole 12 months put a lot of responsibility on the kids and their families," said Dr. Mauras, Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Nemours Children's Clinic, Jacksonville.

Dr. Larry Fox, Medical Director of the Northeast Florida Pediatric Diabetes Center added,"This was a major effort that required the whole team of doctors, nurses, dieticians involved in the care of these children. Our nurse coordinators, Kim Englert and Joe Permuy, and research assistant, Tina Ewen, in particular did a great job for us." 

The Endocrinology and Diabetes Program at Nemours Children's Clinic, Jacksonville has been ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News and World Report.

Dr. Wysocki said, “I am honored to receive this award along with my colleagues at institutions across the involved in the CGM project. The work that came out of this study has improved treatment and quality of life for thousands of children and adults with diabetes. We continue to work towards novel and effective approaches to understanding and treating this all too common disease.”

Previously, Wysocki was Nemours’ principal investigator in a collaborative research network studying CGM for children and adolescents with diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2001-2007.

Dr. Mauras, Dr. Fox, and the division of Endocrinology continue to be involved in a variety of cutting edge studies in children with diabetes, funded by NIH, JDRF and industry.

• Learn more about the "Excellence in Clinical Research" Award Presentation