Home Telemedicine (CoYoT1 Clinic): A Novel Approach to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes in Young Adults With Diabetes.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of a home telemedicine clinic model (CoYoT1 Clinic) on psychosocial and behavioral outcomes designed for young adults (YAs) with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: YAs self-selected to participate in the CoYoT1 Clinic or serve as a usual care control. CoYoT1 Clinic visits consisted of an individual appointment with a provider and a group appointment with other YAs with T1D using home telemedicine. Psychosocial and behavioral functioning was assessed by 4 measures: Diabetes Distress Scale, Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Scale, Self-Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Adolescence Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: Forty-two patients participated in the CoYoT1 Clinic and 39 patients served as controls. CoYoT1 participants reported lower levels of distress (P = .03), increased diabetes self-efficacy (P = .01), and improved ability to communicate with others about diabetes (P = .04) over the study period compared to controls. YA males in the control group reported increases in depressive symptoms (P = .03) during the study period, but CoYoT1 participants showed no changes. CONCLUSION: Group home telemedicine for YAs with T1D positively affects diabetes distress, self-efficacy, and diabetes-specific communication. These positive findings have the potential to also affect the YAs' long-term diabetes outcomes. Further investigation of the model is needed.

The Protein-Sparing Modified Fast Diet: An Effective and Safe Approach to Induce Rapid Weight Loss in Severely Obese Adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The protein-sparing modified fast (PSMF) is a rigorous way of rapidly losing a large amount of weight. Although adult studies have shown the PSMF to be effective, data in adolescents are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of the PSMF in severely obese adolescents. METHODS: 12 subjects who were evaluated in the Obesity Management Program at the Cleveland Clinic from 2011 to 2014 were included. The subjects were initiated on the PSMF after failing other conventional methods of weight loss. Once the goal weight was achieved, subjects were transitioned to the refeeding phase for weight maintenance. RESULTS: Follow-up was scheduled at 3-month (11 patients) and 6-month (6 patients) intervals. At the 6-month follow-up visit, the average weight loss was 11.19 kg (95% confidence interval = -5.4, -27.8, P = .028), with average of 9.8% from baseline. Fifty percent of subjects had >5% weight loss and 20% had >10% weight loss. Four patients were lost to the follow-up (40%). An improvement was noted in total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein. Due to a small sample size these results were not statistically significant. Side effects reported by subjects were mild dehydration due to nausea (2 patients), decreased energy (1 patient), and transient labile mood (1 patient). No life-threatening side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: Our results show that the PSMF diet can be used as an effective and safe method in the outpatient setting for rapid weight loss in adolescents with severe obesity.