I want to cure...diabetes

[physiclas87]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

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[docB]

Endocrine.

 

[robotsonic]

Bariatric surgeons cure diabetes.

 

[imtiaz]

transplant surgery.

 

[Orange Julius]

transplant surgery.

Pancreas transplants are soon to be a thing of the past.

 

[billydoc]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

Just become a personal trainer, and kick butt. I wish somebody kicked mine, when I was too damn lazy to kick my own. Now I have to live with this curse for the rest of my life G. I hope there will be something outthere to neutralize this time bomb soon.

 

[beary]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

You could do this through at least path, IM, and peds.

Of course I think path is the best.

 

[tiene dolor?]

yeah, good luck with that.

 

[Annette]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

MD/PhD in molecular biology, internal medicine residency at an academic institution, fellowship in endocrinology, Associate professor- hoping to get funding, followed by assistant professor with funding- hoping to get tenure, full professor with no more time to play in the lab- hoping to not be scooped by another lab.

 

[BKN]

MD/PhD in molecular biology, internal medicine residency at an academic institution, fellowship in endocrinology, Associate professor- hoping to get funding, followed by assistant professor with funding- hoping to get tenure, full professor with no more time to play in the lab- hoping to not be scooped by another lab.

Nicely laid out and makes sense. One small correction, Asst Professor is below Associate. Usually tenure (if it comes), comes at that jump and is dependent upon having received funding.

Also I'd suggest to the o.p. that diabetes cures may be pretty close. If you're just starting perhaps a different topic.

 

[physiclas87]

I know we are close, I just hope it comes within 10 or so years. I come from a Mexican family, and just about everybody gets diabetes in their 50's-60's.

 

[mustangsally65]

I wish somebody kicked mine, when I was too damn lazy to kick my own. Now I have to live with this curse for the rest of my life G. I hope there will be something outthere to neutralize this time bomb soon.

I hear ya. I'm insulin resistant, so I'm not diabetic yet, but I'm at a higher risk and wish I'd been diagnosed sooner so I could have been eating better (and feeling better!) all this time.

Diabetes is a real problem now, and it will only get worse I fear as our population ages and continues to eat a bad diet.

 

[robotsonic]

Diabetes is a real problem now, and it will only get worse I fear as our population ages and continues to eat a bad diet.

I'm not worried. This will just provide me with more patients when I am a bariatric surgeon. j/k

(And bariatric surgeons really do cure diabetes in their patients, which is truly amazing.)

 

[billydoc]

I'm not worried. This will just provide me with more patients when I am a bariatric surgeon. j/k

(And bariatric surgeons really do cure diabetes in their patients, which is truly amazing.)

Well, that's what I thought too. When you are younger you don't think in terms of having the same problems as many of your patients. So I hope your cinicism will pass with growing up. As for bareatric sergeons "really cure diabetes"... is only a hype. Nobody yet cured it. Yes, extremely obese people do benefit from it, at least initially. But there have been many studies trcing these ppl down the road in life. Many of them gradually gain weight back, although may be not as much as they've had before. Those who maintain lower weight wind up with uncontrolable, and very often sudden severe hypoglycemia. (Just imagine driving like that for one) .And what about those skinny, and juvenile Type 1 brittle diabetics with no flesh left for injections?I guess this is where we could apply Marxism-Leninism, and redistribute "equal fat" for everyone Cut it from the obese bourseua and give to the skinny proletarians

 

[robotsonic]

Well, that's what I thought too. When you are younger you don't think in terms of having the same problems as many of your patients. So I hope your cinicism will pass with growing up.

Why do you think I am being cynical here? My last post was a joke. (j/k means Just Kidding.) Don't assume that I'm not concerned about the rise in overweight and obesity. It definitely concerns me! During undergrad I studied health policy and public health, and one of my pet hobbies was coming up with ways to help people lose weight, prevent weight gain, and become less sedentary. Many of the best ideas have been tried... and haven't worked. It is incredibly difficult to get people to change their lifestyles. I used to be so hopeful that the health policy and community-based projects would work, but they don't! So as for being cynical, I am so much more cynical now than I was back then, because I see how difficult the problem is.

I'm still hopeful about bariatric surgery, though.

 

[billydoc]

Why do you think I am being cynical here? My last post was a joke. (j/k means Just Kidding.) Don't assume that I'm not concerned about the rise in overweight and obesity. It definitely concerns me! During undergrad I studied health policy and public health, and one of my pet hobbies was coming up with ways to help people lose weight, prevent weight gain, and become less sedentary. Many of the best ideas have been tried... and haven't worked. It is incredibly difficult to get people to change their lifestyles. I used to be so hopeful that the health policy and community-based projects would work, but they don't! So as for being cynical, I am so much more cynical now than I was back then, because I see how difficult the problem is.

I'm still hopeful about bariatric surgery, though.

Hey Robotsonic!
My bad I didn't notice that "j/k" thing.Sorry.And I'm being checked for diabetic retinopathy at least once a year You know, these things hit way too close home for me. I can't tell you how difficult it is to loose weight once you have a metabolic syndrome "X" or the diabetes itself. I'm sweating exerciesing a lot more than many non-diabetics, sticking to the diet (low carbs/ no concentrated sweets). This disease is a real "beatch " I hope we'll come up with something to knock it out real soon.

 

[robotsonic]

Hey Robotsonic!
My bad I didn't notice that "j/k" thing.Sorry.And I'm being checked for diabetic retinopathy at least once a year You know, these things hit way too close home for me. I can't tell you how difficult it is to loose weight once you have a metabolic syndrome "X" or the diabetes itself. I'm sweating exerciesing a lot more than many non-diabetics, sticking to the diet (low carbs/ no concentrated sweets). This disease is a real "beatch " I hope we'll come up with something to knock it out real soon.

Sorry to hear about that. I didn't mean to sound insensitive or flippant, although I can see how my posts would appear that way.

 

[rpkall]

yeah, good luck with that.

ahaha

 

[oompaloompa]

Personally, I think that the OP has a very worthy goal, as diabetes is becoming the "plague" of our times. Unfortunately the cynic in me cannot be silenced. Unless this "cure" is a one-time shot kind of deal, I don't think it will be any more effective than the current treatment. Otherwise, we're still stuck with the same problem of getting people to be responsible about their health -- and in my experience, there is NOTHING harder than that. That's why bariatric surgery "cures" diabetes, because it takes "effort and responsibility" out of the equation. Not to sound too harsh, but the reason we don't see many highly motivated and health conscious type II diabetics out there is because those kind of people don't get raging diabetes!
So our options are this:

1) Get Americans to take the initiative about their own problems and motivate themselves to modify their lifestyles according to......(sorry I couldn't finish, I was laughing too hard.)

2) Find a some kind of medical miracle that requires absolutely no insight or effort of willpower.

Well, since monkeys will fly out of my ass before the first option happens, we better get to work on the second. I wish good luck to those working on the diabetes epidemic, your work is among the most importent research out there.

 

[Scottish Chap]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

Yes, pathology....I promise you......but most good basic research is incremental and collaborative.

 

[LADoc00]

Yes, pathology....I promise you......but most good basic research is incremental and collaborative.

NO not pathology. People have this misconception we have all this free time to spend in the lab and create Frankenstein monsters to kill time between frozen sections. I have not nor ever will have the free time to create the proverbial "monkey with 4 a$$es." Pathology is crazy amounts of service work people. Sheesh. You would be far better off in an internal medicine subspeciality. Or better yet, if you want to cure adult onset DM, go into sports medicine or something.

 

[Scottish Chap]

NO not pathology. People have this misconception we have all this free time to spend in the lab and create Frankenstein monsters to kill time between frozen sections. I have not nor ever will have the free time to create the proverbial "monkey with 4 a$$es." Pathology is crazy amounts of service work people. Sheesh. You would be far better off in an internal medicine subspeciality. Or better yet, if you want to cure adult onset DM, go into sports medicine or something.

Hmmm looks like I unintentionally hit a raw nerve but I stand by my statement. Path is unequivocally the best specialty to combine with research (although you are essentially doing two full-time jobs). Surgical path..... you have no down time at all but, clinical pathology.....c'mon my friend....plenty of time for research. You, I, and everyone else can see you're just kidding.

 

[CameronFrye]

Hmmm looks like I unintentionally hit a raw nerve but I stand by my statement. Path is unequivocally the best specialty to combine with research (although you are essentially doing two full-time jobs). Surgical path..... you have no down time at all but, clinical pathology.....c'mon my friend....plenty of time for research. You, I, and everyone else can see you're just kidding.

Well, you need to specify CP then. Most people who go into path go into it for the AP stuff, and those people are not doing service work and running a research lab at the same time (for the most part). Internal medicine provides tons of opportunities to do service work and run your lab.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Well, you need to specify CP then. Most people who go into path go into it for the AP stuff, and those people are not doing service work and running a research lab at the same time (for the most part). Internal medicine provides tons of opportunities to do service work and run your lab.

Agreed. BUT I used to work with a basic researcher with a huge lab. He was head of anatomic pathology. It's less common but it still occurs. Like anything else in life, if it's what you really want to do, you'll find a way to make it work.....

 

[CameronFrye]

Agreed. BUT I used to work with a basic researcher with a huge lab. He was head of anatomic pathology. It's less common but it still occurs. Like anything else in life, if it's what you really want to do, you'll find a way to make it work.....

Yeah, I'm not arguing with that, it's certainly doable and I do know pathologists who run their own labs (but most of them are doing subspecialty path like neuro or heme). I think my real point is that you can have a fruitful research career from many specialties, so you should still pick the area which interests you most. If IM interests you, I still feel that IM seems to be the best field to go the basic researcher route. It's only a 3 year residency (yes, I know that you can do just AP or CP in 3 years, but if you end up changing your mind about academics, then you're going to have a hard time getting a private practice gig). You can then be on service two weeks at a time a few times a year and you might have a clinic 1-2 days a week. That being said, if path really interests you, then you can certainly do research coming from a path residency.

I guess there is one other thing to think about. If you have your heart set on doing your post-doc at a place like Harvard, a path residency is going to be less competitive than a medicine residency at those same institutions (but still not a walk in the park to match at those places).

 

[mcfaddens]

Hmmm looks like I unintentionally hit a raw nerve but I stand by my statement. Path is unequivocally the best specialty to combine with research (although you are essentially doing two full-time jobs). Surgical path..... you have no down time at all but, clinical pathology.....c'mon my friend....plenty of time for research. You, I, and everyone else can see you're just kidding.

Bro your getting ahead of your self. From your previous posts your still in med school. You have no idea of what pathology is like in day to day life. Why do you think actual pathologists have replied to you in disagreement.

 

[Scottish Chap]

duplicate

 

[Scottish Chap]

Bro your getting ahead of your self. From your previous posts your still in med school. You have no idea of what pathology is like in day to day life. Why do you think actual pathologists have replied to you in disagreement.

"Bro", please let me respond to you by PM (you've made too many assumptions and jumped to conclusions; a more thorough search would have served you well...but you decided to be a smartypants instead).

 

[jonathon]

What is the best field of medicine to choose if you want to have a little lab and do research on the side to cure diabetes? Pathology?

So you want to cure diabetes? Well, first off, why do you want to be an MD for then? If you want to cure diabetes you need to develop a strong network of experts who do diabetes research. You will need to devote your time and energy to laboratory work. You will not cure diabetes if you are only spending 2 or 3 days a week in a laboratory. By the way, you won’t “cure” diabetes per say when doing basic research. You have the chance of discovering something that allows for the knowledge concept of diabetes to advance forward that can lead to diabetes being better treated (this process can take 5 to 30+ years). Even with stem cell transplantation, its still not a cure, it’s a treatment.

As you know, diabetes is a complex disease. Let me give you some subcategories of diabetes:

DIABETES MELLITUS, NONINSULIN-DEPENDENT; NIDDM with disease causation at 20q12-q13.1, 20q12-q13.1, 19q13.1-q13.2, 19p13.2, 17q25, 17cen-q21.3, 13q34, 13q12.1, 12q24.2, 11p12-p11.2, 6q22-q23, 6p12, 5q34-q35.2, 2q32, 2q24.1

and

DIABETES MELLITUS, INSULIN-DEPENDENT; IDDM with disease causation at Xp11.23-q13.3, 12q24.2, 1p13, 6p21.3

and

DIABETES-DEAFNESS SYNDROME, MATERNALLY TRANSMITTED (with unknown disease causation)

And

INSULIN RECEPTOR; INSR with disease causation at 19p13.2

And

DIABETES INSIPIDUS, NEUROHYPOPHYSEAL TYPE with disease causation at 20p13

And

DIABETES MELLITUS, PERMANENT NEONATAL; PNDM with disease causation at 11p15.1, 7p15-p13

And

MATURITY-ONSET DIABETES OF THE YOUNG; MODY (unknown locus for disease causation)

And

DIABETES MELLITUS, INSULIN-DEPENDENT, 2 with disease causation at 11p15.5

And

DIABETES INSIPIDUS, NEPHROGENIC, X-LINKED with disease causation at Xq28

And

MATURITY-ONSET DIABETES OF THE YOUNG, TYPE I; MODY1 with disease causation at 20q12-q13.1, 11p15.5

And DIABETES INSIPIDUS, NEPHROGENIC, AUTOSOMAL, DIABETES MELLITUS, NONINSULIN-DEPENDENT, 2; NIDDM2, DIABETES MELLITUS, INSULIN-DEPENDENT, 4; IDDM4, MATURITY-ONSET DIABETES OF THE YOUNG, TYPE II; MODY2, DIABETES MELLITUS, INSULIN-DEPENDENT, 7; IDDM7, DIABETES MELLITUS, INSULIN-DEPENDENT, X-LINKED, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO, etc, etc, etc, etc.

If you want too do good research towards diabetes, I advice you to subscribe to the journal Diabetes.

 

[jonathon]

Even with the advances that have been made in stem cell research, there are still questions if therapeutic cloning to generate patient-matched stem cells can be done in humans. It’s been shown and replicated in animal studies. Since the work from S. Korea has now been highly questioned, and previous work from the same lab (the cloned dog and a paper published in Science in 2004), is leading to the question of just how hard it is to accomplish patient matched stem cells via nuclear transfer.

If you do research in diabetes, I advice you to bank stem-cell lines from normal embryos, so that they can be matched to patients.

I also advice you to read the following articles for just how difficult it is to get stem cells:

J. B. Cibelli et al. J. Regen. Med. 2, 25–31; 2001

Chinese Sci. Bull. 48, 1840–1843; 2003

Y. Chen et al. Cell Res. 13, 251–263; 2003

M. Stojkovic et al. Reprod. BioMed. Online 11, 226–231; 2005