SAN ANTONIO — In Bexar County, there are more than 300,000 people with diabetes. In this Real Men Wear Gowns, we explain the importance of clinical trials by speaking with a man who took part in one, and two doctors who say they're used to get a better hold on how to handle this disease affecting so many.
Rolando Lugo was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last June."They ran some blood work and he said my A-1C's were 11.7 so he said I was diabetic," he said.
Lugo made diet and exercise changes quickly. "It's not just about me. It's about those around me. Diabetes runs in my family and I've seen the repercussions of it, so for me it was a wake up call," he said.
That's where the Texas Diabetes Institute comes in. "The Texas Diabetes Institute was founded with one of its important missions to study the disease itself, from the very initial phases to understand how it develops," said Dr. Eugenio Cersosimo, the Medical Director of Clinical Research at the Texas Diabetes Institute within the University Health System. He said they study the disease through life-saving clinical trials. Dr. Cersosimo added, "Clinical studies in general are aimed at slowing the disease, but very importantly slowing the rate of complications and the severity of complications."
There are many benefits to participating in clinical trials, such as education on your diet, getting an exercise plan, free medication, often at times compensation, frequent health checkups, making new friends, knowing you are helping others and possibly saving lives.
Dr. Yuejuan Qin, a Clinical Study Investigator at the Texas Diabetes Institute, told us the trials are great those on a limited income. "Especially some patients who don't have medical insurance. If someone has no insurance, they come here they get treated for free," she said.
For more information about diabetes research at the Texas Diabetes Institute, you can call 210-358-7200. Also, for more men's health information call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of our Wear the Gown stories, just go to WearTheGown.com.