Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail From: Edward Reid Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes,misc.answers,news.answers Subject: diabetes FAQ: sources (part 4 of 5) Supersedes: Followup-To: misc.health.diabetes Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2015 00:02:43 -0400 (EDT) Organization: Paleolithic Refugia Sender: faqserv@xvm-75.mit.edu Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 23 Oct 2015 04:02:36 GMT Message-ID: References: Reply-To: edward@paleo.org.SPAMNOT Summary: Discusses questions which have been asked frequently in misc.health.diabetes. Likely to be of interest to anyone who has diabetes or a friend or relative with diabetes or other blood glucose disorder. X-Last-Updated: 2014/04/15 Lines: 789 NNTP-Posting-Host: xvm-75.mit.edu X-Trace: 1443240163 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 10664 18.181.2.75:49224 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu misc.health.diabetes:344652 misc.answers:20713 news.answers:336316 Archive-name: diabetes/faq/part4 Posting-Frequency: biweekly Last-modified: 30 April 2003 Changes: see part 1 of the FAQ for a list of changes to all parts. ------------------------------ Subject: READ THIS FIRST Copyright 1993-2005 by Edward Reid. Re-use beyond the fair use provisions of copyright law and convention requires the author's permission. Advice given in m.h.d is *never* medical advice. That includes this FAQ. Never substitute advice from the net for a physician's care. Diabetes is a critical health topic and you should always consult your physician or personally understand the ramifications before taking any therapeutic action based on advice found here or elsewhere on the net. ------------------------------ Subject: Table of Contents INTRODUCTION (found in all parts) READ THIS FIRST Table of Contents GENERAL (found in part 1) Where's the FAQ? What's this newsgroup like? Abuse of the newsgroup The newsgroup charter Newsgroup posting guidelines What is glucose? What does "bG" mean? What are mmol/L? How do I convert between mmol/L and mg/dl? What is c-peptide? What do c-peptide levels mean? What's type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Is it OK to discuss diabetes insipidus here? What is it? How about discussing hypoglycemia? Helping with the diagnosis (DM or hypoglycemia) and waiting Exercise and insulin BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING (found in part 2) How accurate is my meter? Ouch! The cost of blood glucose measurement strips hurts my wallet! What do meters cost? Comparing blood glucose meters How can I download data from my meter? I've heard of a non-invasive bG meter -- the Dream Beam? What's HbA1c and what's it mean? Why is interpreting HbA1c values tricky? Who determined the HbA1c reaction rates and the consequences? HbA1c by mail Why is my morning bg high? What are dawn phenomenon, rebound, and Somogyi effect? TREATMENT (found in part 3) My diabetic father isn't taking care of himself. What can I do? Managing adolescence, including the adult forms So-and-so eats sugar! Isn't that poison for diabetics? Insulin nomenclature What is Humalog / LysPro / lispro / ultrafast insulin? Travelling with insulin Injectors: Syringe and lancet reuse and disposal Injectors: Pens Injectors: Jets Insulin pumps Type 1 cures -- beta cell implants Type 1 cures -- pancreas transplants Type 2 cures -- barely a dream What's a glycemic index? How can I get a GI table for foods? Should I take a chromium supplement? I beat my wife! (and other aspects of hypoglycemia) (not yet written) Does falling blood glucose feel like hypoglycemia? Alcohol and diabetes Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum Has anybody heard of frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)? Gastroparesis Extreme insulin resistance What is pycnogenol? Where and how is it sold? What claims do the sales pitches make for pycnogenol? What's the real published scientific knowledge about pycnogenol? How reliable is the literature cited by the pycnogenol ads? What's the bottom line on pycnogenol? Pycnogenol references SOURCES (found in part 4) Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists Online resources: commercial services Online resources: FTP Online resources: World Wide Web Online resources: other Where can I mail order XYZ? How can I contact the American Diabetes Association (ADA) ? How can I contact the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) ? How can I contact the British Diabetic Association (BDA) ? How can I contact the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) ? What about diabetes organizations outside North America? How can I contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)? Could you recommend some good reading? Could you recommend some good magazines? RESEARCH (found in part 5) What is the DCCT? What are the results? More details about the DCCT DCCT philosophy: what did it really show? Is aspartame dangerous? IN CLOSING (found in all parts) Who did this? ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: diabetes-related newsgroups On the Usenet, the misc.health.diabetes newsgroup carries most of the messages related to diabetes. Volume runs about 200-250 articles/day. Suppose you obtained this FAQ by some method other than by reading m.h.d and you want to participate. If you already have access to Usenet news, just subscribe to misc.health.diabetes; the exact method depends on the software used at your site, so you should inquire locally for details. If you do not have access to Usenet news, inquire locally about obtaining such access. The key words are "I want to participate in the Usenet newsgroup misc.health.diabetes". Usenet is available at most colleges and universities, many companies, all of the large commercial services (including Delphi, Netcom, America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy), many smaller local services, most Freenet systems, and many locally run BBSs. Some of these have selective news feeds, and you will have to ask them to get misc.health.diabetes before you can subscribe via their system. m.h.d is not gatewayed to any mailing list, and to my knowledge is not archived anywhere as such. However, DejaNews has all of Usenet from March 1995 to present online and available to the public, and plans to extend the scope farther into the past. You can create a filter specifying only the newsgroup you want, and then search for key words. See http://www.dejanews.com Another newsgroup, alt.support.diabetes.kids, has a much smaller volume of articles, about 2-3 per day. Being in the alt.* hierarchy of newsgroups, its propagation is somewhat restricted compared to misc.health.diabetes. To obtain access, follow the same instructions as for m.h.d, above. Other Usenet newsgroups which might be relevant are rec.food and its subgroups the sci.med hierarchy the alt.support hierarchy, especially alt.support.diet bit.listserv.transplant (only available at sites that carry bit.* -- see the description below of the TRNSPLNT list) ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists Several public electronic mailing lists have diabetes-related content. The main alternative to a newsgroup is the DIABETIC list, which carries about 60-80 messages/day. Its charter is to be "a support and information group for diabetics". The overall flavor and atmosphere are different from the m.h.d newsgroup, so if you find that you are uncomfortable with one, try the other. If you subscribe to the DIABETIC list, be prepared for the large volume of messages. If you have not dealt with this volume of email before, it will be quite disconcerting to see so many messages appear in your personal mailbox, and I advise that you consider one of the following methods to avoid being overwhelmed: -- set up a mailbox (aka userid, account, screen name) separate from your normal personal mailbox in which to receive the mailing list. You will have to ask locally whether this is possible on your system. You may also be able to use your mail program to filter mailing list messages into a separate mailbox. -- convert to the digest as soon as you have subscribed. The digest option collects messages into large postings called digests (a misuse of the word, as all messages are included in their entirety). This digest is sent daily, or when its size passes a limit (currently 2000 lines). Convert to digest form by sending a message addressed to the listserv (see below) with a message body containing set diabetic mail digest TYPE_ONE is a low to moderate volume mailing list for discussion of type 1 diabetes, intended primarily as a support group. It carries about 10 messages/day. There is no digest option. If you get any error messages from "majordomo", be sure to write directly to the list owner, jamyers(AT)netcom.com, as sometimes the software at netcom prevents him from replying directly. DIABETES-EHLB started as an Electronic HighLights Bulletin to distribute information presented at the ADA conference in June 1996. It was carried forward as a moderated mailing list. The moderator plans to try to keep discussions focussed on specific topics. TRNSPLNT is a low volume mailing list for discussion of organ transplants. It carries about 10 messages/day. It is relevant to diabetes because complications of diabetes often lead to kidney transplants. TRNSPLNT is gatewayed with the newsgroup bit.listserv.transplant, which is available at Usenet sites which carry the bit.* hierarchy of newsgroups. DIABETES-NEWS is a one-way list provided by _Diabetes Interview_ magazine. It provides a sample, one article per week, from the printed magazine. See the section on "Could you recommend some good magazines?" for more information about the printed magazine. AUTOIMMUNE is a moderated, low volume list carrying technical information about research on autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes. HYPO is a moderate volume mailing list for support and information on hypoglycemia (as a medical condition as opposed to an insulin reaction). To subscribe to the mailing list in the first column, send a message to the email address in the second column (or to the alternate if given) containing the command in the third column. Note that Firstname Lastname is your real name, such as John Doe. The listserv software will use the email address in your message header for your subscription. If you have trouble sending email to the listserv, or if you receive no response, then you will need the help of someone at your site. DIABETIC listserv(AT)lehigh.edu subscribe diabetic Firstname Lastname TYPE_ONE listserv(AT)netcom.com subscribe type_one DIABETES-EHLB listserv(AT)shrsys.hslc.org subscribe diabetes-ehlb Fstnm Lstnm TRNSPLNT listserv(AT)wuvmd.bitnet subscribe trnsplnt Firstname Lastname listserv(AT)wuvmd.wustl.edu DIABETES-NEWS diabetes-news-request(AT)lists.best.com subscribe AUTOIMMUNE maiser(AT)ksg1.harvard.edu Subscribe autoimmune_research HYPO hypo-request(AT)iceblue.com.au subscribe hypo NECROBIOSIS necrobiosis-subscribe@yahoogroups.com [no command needed] web page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/necrobiosis For up to date information and more diabetes-related mailing lists, see Rick Mendosa's Online Diabetes Resources FAQ at http://www.mendosa.com/faq.htm ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: commercial services Most of the information here comes from David Cohler , who tried out all the online services and sent me his reviews. Thanks, David! I don't have any information about commercial services in countries other than the US. CompuServe has a very active "Diabetes Forum." In many respects, it is the single most comprehensive online resource for diabetics, featuring active participation from several dozen countries, an extensive document library, and an extensive software library. The moderators ("sysops") are quick to pounce on misinformation and either correct it or delete it. No flaming allowed. As of late 1995 the main drawback to CIS is price; even under a new pricing policy, accessing the Diabetes Forum just 20 minutes a day could result in charges of US$30 per month. America Online has a diabetes support area. It is newer and smaller than Compuserve's, but growing. The health forum has a number of information files on diabetes which users can read and download. These files generally contain good advice and some explanation, but not in-depth explanation. Also on AOL, each Sunday evening at 8:30 Eastern Time (US) a diabetes support group meets in a "private room" named "Diabetes". For more information, email Jim Lewis . Prodigy has a relatively small but active and very friendly support group accessed by "jumping" to "Medical Support BB" and then selecting "diabetes" as the bookmark configuration. The board is monitored by several CDEs. Although there is some discussion of scientific research, etc., the preponderance of posts concerns support for people having trouble with self-management. This is an excellent place for newly-diagnosed diabetics who still need a lot of basic information and emotional support. Moderated (no flaming allowed). Delphi has an active diabetes support forum, accessed by typing GO REL DIA. Lisa Crawford is the host and forum manager. Genie has a miniscule diabetes support area, configured as an RT ("Round Table," Genie's term for BB). As of May 1995, traffic was at the rate of a dozen posts per week. ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: FTP Demon Internet Services, a UK service provider, donated FTP space for diabetes-related materials due to the urging and coordination of Ian Preece . This cooperative endeavor was launched with an empty directory in June 1994. FTP has taken a back seat to the WWW. However, this site is one of the very few soliciting donations as a cooperative endeavour. Using the World Wide Web will be the easiest access to ftp for most new users: ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/diabetes/ You can also use a traditional FTP program. To submit material, upload it to the "incoming" directory. After making a submission, send email to Ian Preece telling him about the file you have submitted. ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: World Wide Web I list a few excellent starting points for diabetes information on the web. The maintainers of these pages are putting a lot of effort into providing good information and links to other sites, and I'm not going to try to duplicate their work here. One of the best starting points is Jeff Hitchcock's Children with Diabetes. Don't judge Children with Diabetes by the title alone; it has extensive links to diabetes information of all sorts and is by far the most extensive compilation on diabetes that I've seen on the net. http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/ Rick Mendosa maintains a very extensive list of online resources for diabetes, including many informational and commercial web sites, and a list of BBSs. It is very likely the most complete list available, and because it's simply a list, it is much easier to read than sites with lots of complex internal links. Rick also keeps one of the most thorough available lists of glycemic index values for foods. http://www.mendosa.com Another excellent compilation of links to diabetes-related web sites is the Diabetes Monitor of the Midwest Diabetes Care Center. It's maintained by William Quick and is exceptionally easy to navigate. http://www.diabetesmonitor.com Yahoo has links on a huge variety of subjects, so if you want more than just diabetes information you can shorten this URL: http://www.yahoo.com/Health/Diseases_and_Conditions/Diabetes Ian Preece is maintaining a web site in conjunction with the Demon FTP site described above: http://www.demon.co.uk/diabetic/ You can reach a WWW-formatted version of this FAQ via the URL http://www.faqs.org/faqs/diabetes/ or you can get the plain text by FTP from ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/diabetes/ The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has put its entire set of Clinical Practice Recommendations online in full. For the most recent version go to http://diabetes.org/cpr/ or start at the ADA home page and follow the link to "For Health Care Professionals", then "Clinical Practice Recommendations". Since these are oriented toward health care professionals, they provide a wealth of detailed recommendations for actual health care practice. Donald Lehn was probably the first to put a server with diabetes information on the web. Lehn's Diabetes Knowledgebase has been offline since August 1995, and is apparently gone for good. ------------------------------ Subject: Online resources: other Most online resources previously available via other means are now available via the web. Since these are thoroughly cataloged by the best of the diabetes web sites (see previous section on "Online resource: World Wide Web), I've dropped this coverage from the FAQ. ------------------------------ Subject: Where can I mail order XYZ? XYZ is most often blood glucose measurement strips, especially for those who don't live near discount pharmacies and must pay cash for their supplies. Mail order prices are not always lower than local prices. Remember that there is an advantage to going to a single pharmacist for all your drugs, if that pharmacist is knowledgeable about interactions and tracks all the drugs you use. Adjustments will be slower if you mail order. Never mail order unless you are certain about what you need. That said, here are two starting points. _Diabetes Forecast_ has a long advertising section, part of which is for suppliers. Nowadays most list their web addresses in the ads. In addition, each issue of _Diabetes Forecast_ contains a column summarizing recommendations for ordering health supplies by mail. Jeff Hitchcock's Children with Diabetes web site has links to quite a list on suppliers with information online at http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/d_06_900.htm. I have removed the list formerly kept here because it was years out of date and done better elsewhere. This leaves no information for those outside the US, as the above links are mostly focused on US sources. In the past, this has been much more of an issue in the US. However, web search engines might be a great help -- googling "diabetes supplies Australia", without the quotes, yields nearly a million hits. Just be careful to evaluate what you find. ------------------------------ Subject: How can I contact the American Diabetes Association (ADA) ? The ADA has local offices in many cities. Check your local phone book first. To contact the national organization, call 1-800-232-3472 or +1 703 549 1500. This will reach all departments. Or write American Diabetes Association 1660 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 USA The ADA offers aid to diabetic patients, books, and journals ranging from general to research. All can be ordered by phone. They maintain lists of physicians with special interest and/or training in diabetes. New patients and their families needing advice are encouraged to call. They may be able to help in dealing with bureaucratic problems. The ADA is on the web at http://diabetes.org. The web site has a great deal of useful information. It includes lists of ADA publications and ordering information. One section that is particularly useful is the ADA's Clinical Practice Recommendations, which are all online in full at http://diabetes.org/cpr/ or start at the ADA home page and follow the link to "For Health Care Professionals", then "Clinical Practice Recommendations". ------------------------------ Subject: How can I contact the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) ? Check your phone book for a local office, or call 1-800-533-2873. The JDF also has a web site at http://www.jdfcure.com/. The JDF's motto is "finding a cure for diabetes", though apparently they only mean for type 1 diabetes. They are rather obnoxious in their rejection of the value of support and treatment other than a total cure. Despite this position, the JDF in fact does a great deal of excellent support work. ------------------------------ Subject: How can I contact the British Diabetic Association (BDA) ? The British Diabetic Association 10 Queen Anne Street London W1M 0BD Telephone 0171 323 1531 (+44 171 323 1531) CARELINE 0171 636 6112 for information about diabetes The BDA produces a bi-monthly magazine for members called "Balance". Membership is UKP 12 a year. ------------------------------ Subject: How can I contact the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) ? The CDA has local offices in many cities. Check your local phone book first. To contact the national organization, call +1 416 363 3373, or write Canadian Diabetes Association 15 Toronto St, Suite 800 Toronto, Ontario M5C 2E3 Canada In Canada, call 1-800-847-SCAN. The CDA is on the web at http://www.diabetes.ca. The B.C. - Yukon Division of the CDA maintains an information center on the Vancouver Freenet. It includes contact information for regional divisions of the CDA. See the section "Online resources: other". ------------------------------ Subject: What about diabetes organizations outside North America? I can't list them unless someone sends me the information. Ian Preece has started a list, which now has contact info for several European organizations, at http://www.demon.co.uk/diabetic/orgs.html ------------------------------ Subject: How can I contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)? UNOS (United Network of Organ Sharing) has a variety of information concerning organ transplants and transplant centers. Contact UNOS at (800)24-DONOR or +1 804 330 8602, or PO Box 13770, Richmond VA 23225, USA. UNOS has a WWW page at http://www.unos.org Email contact is Joel Newman . ------------------------------ Subject: Could you recommend some good reading? You mean to curl up with on the sofa? Oh, diabetes ... OK. My favorite book is Mayer Davidson's _Diabetes Mellitus: Diagnosis and Treatment_, published by Churchill Livingstone. Though written as a medical text, anyone willing to plow through an occasional dense passage and keep a dictionary handy will have no trouble with it. (See below about medical terminology.) Being written mostly by a single person, it is much better focussed than the "committee" books which are so common. And it's very cheap for medical books, US$42 in 1994. Charles Coughran recommends _Management of Diabetes Mellitus Perspectives of Care Across the Lifespan_, Debra Haire-Joshu (editor), Mosby Year Book, 1992, ISBN 0-8016-2429-0. He says it's as good as Davidson, readable, and aimed at a similar audience. Coughran and Steve Kirchoefer recommend _Joslin's Diabetes Manual_ by Krall and Beaser, Lea&Febiger 1988. Though somewhat lacking in consistency due to the multitude of writers, it's a useful practical book. The Joslin Institute is world renowned for its support of diabetes research and treatment, and the price of the book is reasonable. Coughran further recommends _Joslin's Diabetes Mellitus_ (13th edition) edited by Kahn and Weir, 1994. It's another book that suffers a lack of consistency due to the multitude of writers, but it contains a wealth of information. Lots of biochemistry and also sections on practical day-to-day management. Oriented toward health care professionals. 1068 pages, $125. Terence Griffin recommends _Therapy for Diabetes Mellitus and Related Disorders_. It's a professional level book compiled and published by the ADA, now in its second edition. See below for ADA ordering information. Steve Marschman recommends John Davidson's _Clinical Diabetes Mellitus, A Problem-Oriented Approach_ (2nd edition), published by Thieme Medical Publications, New York. Written from a care-giver's perspective, it is an excellent technical resource book with medical descriptions of diabetes mellitus, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and concomitant problems. Price about US$150, but often available used for much less. (As far as I know, the two Davidsons, Mayer and John, are not related.) The American Diabetes Association publishes a number of books with basic diabetes information of various sorts -- self care, diet, recipes, etc. Deb Martinson especially recommends _The ADA Complete Guide to Diabetes_, about $6 in paperback and published in 1996. See the ADA's web site at http://www.diabetes.org or use the phone numbers or address in the following section. Any university library will have a large number of books on diabetes, and they will be grouped together on the shelves. Go and browse. The books mentioned above can be found in most university libraries. The rest of what I have to talk about is periodicals. See the next topic. ------------------------------ Subject: Could you recommend some good magazines? _Diabetes Interview_ is a popular monthly tabloid with a variety of news stories, interviews, and lots and lots of advertising. It's run by a journalist, Scott King, and it shows. Authority, to this publication, always lies in people they talk to. They don't appear to read scientific or medical literature as the basis or support for stories. They do publish research summaries, but these are at the newswire level with no apparent critical reading. No critical commentary accompanies interviews. Publisher Scott King has pursued some valuable projects, such as organizing letter-writing to Ann Landers after she tried to shove dining-out diabetics into the closet -- Landers published King's own excellent letter. He has certainly advanced the cause of open discussion of diabetes in general. But _Diabetes Interview_ has been sidetracked needlessly at times, such as by allocating seriously inordinate abounts of space and attention to minor issues such as the animal/human insulin debate. They also regularly run a paid advertisement for an herbal product which claims to "restore pancreatic function" -- probably an illegal claim in the US. _Diabetes Interview_ offers a sample (one article per week) as an electronic mailing list and many articles on their web site. See the section on "Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists" for information on the mailing list. _Diabetes Interview_ subscription information: one year, US$20 in the US, US$31 in CA and MX, $46 in other countries. Cancel after the first issue if you don't like it Diabetes Interview 3715 Balboa Street San Francisco, CA 94121 http://www.diabetesworld.com phone: +1 415 387 4002 US 800-234-1218 _Diabetes Self-Management_ is a bimonthly magazine containing generally detailed articles oriented to helping patients with techniques and skills -- diet, exercise, treatment, outlook, etc. They go into areas not often covered, such as a recent series by Ann Williams on low-vision tools and coping skills. The writers tend to have in-depth knowledge of their fields and the information is well balanced. The magazine emphasizes practical skills over basic knowledge, and spreads itself a bit thin by trying to address itself to all diabetics. Those who dislike Diabetes Forecast will find similar coverage in Diabetes Self-Management but with more depth and aimed at a better educated audience. The _Diabetes Self-Management_ web site has full text of numerous articles from back issues, about two articles from each issue. _Diabetes Self-Management_ costs US$14/yr, or US$36/yr outside the US and CA. To order, mail payment, call, or look on their website. They'll send a free trial issue if you wish. Diabetes Self-Management P. O. Box 52890 Boulder, CO 80322 http://www.diabetes-self-mgmt.com/ US phone: 800-234-0923 Everything else I have to recommend comes from the ADA (see section on ADA). Here's what the ADA says about its own publications: _Diabetes_ -- the world's most-cited journal of basic diabetes research brings you the latest findings from the world's top scientists. _Diabetes Care_ -- the premier journal of clinical diabetes research and treatment. _Diabetes Care_ keeps you current with original research reports, commentaries, and reviews. _Diabetes Reviews_ (in memoriam) -- the comprehensive but concise review articles in ADA's newest journal are a convenient way for the busy clinician to keep up-to-date on what's truly new in research. Sadly, Diabetes Reviews ceased publication at the end of 1999, a victim of the fact that medical libraries face a crisis of rising subscription costs but flat budgets. The seven volumes which were published are still an invaluable resource. _Diabetes Spectrum_ -- translates research into practice for nurses, dietitians, and other health-care professionals involved in patient education and counseling. _Clinical Diabetes_ -- For the primary-care physician as well as other health-care professionals, this newsletter offers articles and abstracts highlighting recent advances in diabetes treatment. _Diabetes Forecast_ -- ADA's magazine for patients and their families features advice on diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes, plus the latest developments in new technology and research. It is a valuable tool for patient education. Now for my own opinions. _Diabetes Forecast_ is the mass market magazine, intended to be readable by all literate diabetics. For US$24/year you can hardly go wrong. The biggest problem with DF is that in the attempt to reach almost everyone, it aims at a very low reading level -- perhaps eighth grade, I'm not sure. This makes it tonally annoying and dilutes the information content. Still, it contains useful information and is excellent at promoting self-care and a positive self-image for persons with diabetes. _Diabetes Forecast_ is also one of the best places to look for advertisements for diabetes-related products. The remaining journals are of interest if you want to follow what is new and under investigation in medical practice and research. The journals vary in difficulty of reading. Though some knowledge of statistics and chemistry helps, a general acquaintance with scientific method is perhaps more important, and a smattering of familiarity with medical terminology helps most. Luckily, medical terminology is basically simple -- it mostly consists of putting together roots and affixes to make specific terms. Learn a few dozen roots and you can make out most of it. Try to have a dictionary at hand at first. _Diabetes Care_ publishes papers on clinical research. I find many of the papers to be interesting and applicable to my own management. With the demise of _Diabetes Reviews_, DC plans to publish more review articles as well. _Diabetes_ is the ADA's journal primarily for basic research. Some of the articles are interesting, but they run much more toward biochemistry and mechanisms of metabolism. As important as basic research is, few of the reports say little of value directly to patients. _Diabetes Spectrum_ is oriented toward health care practitioners. It consists of reprints of important articles (sometimes several on a topic) and summaries of related articles, plus original commentaries from other authors. As such, it provides a broad overview of topics for readers who don't have time to track down lots of separate original articles. If you only have time to read one technical publication, _Diabetes Spectrum_ is perhaps the best choice -- the only competitor for this place is _Clinical Diabetes_. _Clinical Diabetes_ contains focussed articles written specifically for health care practitioners. It's very readable and to to the point, another good choice for those wanting higher level reading but not research articles. The ADA has price structures for regular members and professional members. A basic regular membership with _Diabetes Forecast_ is US$24/year (in the US, $41.93 in Canada, $39 in Mexico, $49 elsewhere, all in US funds). The other ADA journals will set you back about US$90-120/year apiece. A professional membership allows you to pick and choose journals at the listed rates; if you plan to get either _Diabetes_ or _Diabetes Care_ you should enter a professional membership to get the best prices. Credentials are not required for a professional membership. The ADA takes checks, money orders, Visa, Mastercard and American Excess. Unfortunately, orders of books from outside the USA incur an additional $15 shipping charge. You can get more ADA info online, including an online catalog for all books and magazines, at http://www.diabetes.org Phone numbers 1-800-232-3472 +1 703 549 1500 +1 703 549 6995 fax or write American Diabetes Association Subscription Services 1660 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 USA ------------------------------ Subject: Who did this? -- Edward Reid Tallahassee FL