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Speak, Memory - a new, smart insulin pen

Look out for a new "smart" insulin pen this February. It's called the HumaPen Memoir - "memoir" because it records the time and amount of the previous 16 insulin doses. This promises to be the first pen of its kind - we love the idea of memory in a pen. It won't be like a "smart" pump, because it can't do math or suggest dosing (we believe that's the best new feature in pumps in the last five years), but memory is certainly a first step. Certified diabetes educators say that thousands of patients have embraced the pen in Finland and the Netherlands, where it has been out for a year and a half. If the pen becomes popular here, it may even encourage more people to use insulin.

If you're not into jewelry, medical alert wallets may be the way to go

For obvious reasons, people with diabetes are encouraged to wear medical alert jewelry, though sometimes they prefer carrying a medical information card in their wallet. This isn't as conspicuous as a necklace or bracelet, but it may also be more difficult to locate. Now you can buy wallets with the medical alert symbol right on the front (medicalalertwallets.com). The quirky symbol, to us, has always been an enigma - it looks like a snake wrapped around a pen, which lies inside some kind of clover - but it's not a bad design element. The wallet makes for a quieter everyday statement, but it would be sufficiently loud in an emergency. It also comes with a standard medical information card. The website sell all kinds of medical alert pouches, but our favorite is the "Travel Lite," which seems ideal for those of us with cash flow problems.

New weight-loss drug may be worth the wait

On April 26, the FDA will either approve a new drug for obesity called rimonabant...or they won't. We do think it will be approved, however, with warnings about important side effects, and that although it is not for everyone, it has undoubtedly helped some patients in trials reduce cardiometabolic risk factors. "Cardiometabolic risk," by the way, is a phrase increasingly used in diabetes. It describes the multi-faceted, overlapping risks for diabetes and cardiovascular disease faced by many people. So rimonabant is a "cannabinoid receptor agonist," which is a long way of saying that it reduces appetite. In a large, recent trial involving people with diabetes who were mostly not obese, rimonabant produced an average weight loss of 14.7 lbs (compared to 6.2 lb on placebo, or dummy pill). It also reduced A1c by 0.5%, which is pretty good considering the fairly low average starting A1c of 7.9%. While this reduction isn't on the scale of insulin, Byetta, TZDs, or even metformin, it's a nice bonus - basically, rimonabant may not only be good for weight loss, but it also improves "cardiometabolic" health in general for at least some patients. The main concern with rimonabant is some strange side effects involving "depressed mood" - definitely a concern, and we imagine the FDA will want very strong warning labels, which makes a lot of sense to us. We'll see what the FDA thinks come April, and report back then.

According to one website, divabetics rule

This just in: women who intensively manage their diabetes may be divabetics, and if you want a website that focuses on girl talk, recipes, and makeovers - and an organization that sponsors educational and social events for distaff diabetics - check out www.divabetic.org. It's a combination of mypsace.com and The View and is a wonderful, boisterous addition to the diabetes community. We also note that its one sponsor is Novo Nordisk, which is light years ahead of its competitors in recognizing smart opportunities to reach customers.

Colorful key chains for glucose tabs

Finding that you're low can be very scary, especially when you're out of candy or glucose tabs, which is why we think the glucose tab key chains made by Pump Wear Inc. are a good idea. These "mini paks" are sturdy, colorful, and small - a convenient way to feel secure, we think. They can also hold change, a "Bluetooth," and whatever else! They're good for kids in particular - "girl power" and "skateboard" are a couple of the available designs at: www.pumpwearinc.com.

Want to be trendy? Check your BMI at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Once only a measure used by health agencies, Body Mass Index, or BMI, is now the trendy gauge of girth as people pass over pounds as passé. You know the scales have tipped in BMI's favor when it gets face time in the Fashion & Style Section of the New York Times, and that's not the half of it: In September, Madrid passed a ban on runway models with BMI below 18.5, China has recently mandated that prospective adoptive parents for Chinese children have BMI under 40, and report cards in Arkansas and Tennessee now include students' BMIs as well as grades. BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by his or her height in meters squared (try it yourself - with pounds and feet - at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/). Is BMI actually a good measure of metabolic health? In her Dec. 28 Times article titled "Quick, Do You Know Your BMI?", reporter Abby Ellin notes that caution is in order. The number "should not be the final word for measuring whether a person is under- or overweight to an unhealthy degree," she writes, because BMI is only one of several measures that matter. As she points out, BMI does not distinguish between fat and muscle mass, so Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Universe was technically obese (with a BMI of 33). Some studies show that sedentary people with lower BMIs are actually at greater risk for diabetes and heart attacks than fit people with higher BMIs. Nonetheless, BMI remains a commonly accepted gauge of health because it's easy to calculate.

Celebrate yourself with a fashion-forward pump!

Think of how many people need to wear glasses just to see! Rather than considering them as a necessary evil, some folks celebrate them by investing in stylish (sometimes designer!) frames. Well, until Gucci teams up with a pump manufacturer, MiniMed is selling vinyl "pump skins" that do the same service for insulin pumps. At $10 each, the skins come in tie-dye, Hawaiian floral, or even fuchsia leopard-skin. Check it out, you fashionistas, at: www.minimed.com/skins