Yazen Joudeh
Center for Adult & Pediatric Wellness, USA
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Diabetes Metab
In recent years there have been new strides in the development of pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of obesity and its related complication, diabetes mellitus. This phenomenon has been referred to as ??diabesity.? Two prominent guidelines in the United States have been released by the American Diabetes Association(ADA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). While there is much overlap, the AACE takes a more ??weight-centric?? approach to the disease. Likewise, the Endocrine Society was the first mainstream organization toendorse pharmacotherapy guidelines for obesity, and in 2016 AACE released their version for obesity management. It can be daunting to navigate these various recommendations to determine the best options for treating patients suffering from excess adiposity along with diabetes. Meanwhile, there has been a surge of various new but lessinvasive surgical treatments for obesity. Many patients are often referred for bariatric surgery without first being offeredmedical weight loss, which Dr. Joudeh argues is neither reasonable nor practical. This presentation will review the power of combining weight loss drug therapy with certain diabetic medications to achieve weight loss targets >5-10% (and often 10-15%) while simultaneously achieving significant hemoglobin A1c reductions. This not only leads to overall improved patient satisfaction but potentially reduces cardiovascular risks, as recently demonstrated in trials with Victoza and Jardiance. Joudeh will review data from weight loss drug trials and compare to his own clinical experience to demonstrate that physicians can help diabetic and obese patients successfully attain and maintain nonsurgical weight loss.
Yazen Joudeh grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Chicago, majoring in the Biological Sciences and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He then received his medical degree at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, after which he completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His interests are primary care, preventative medicine, nutrition, and weight management. He is triple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obesity Medicine and has helped thousands of individual patients and families lose weight, maintain weight loss, while improving comorbidities.
Email: joudehmd@yahoo.com
