PRIMED

A rare “Sleeping Beauty” syndrome has 17-year-old Louisa Ball of Worthing, England sleeping for 10 to 14 days at a time.  During a sleep episode, she would lose as much as 10 pounds and experience odd eating habits and offensive mood swings when awake.  After Louisa’s parents took her to various medical professionals, she was eventually diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder with no known cause.  The disorder generally strikes adolescents, primarily males and is characterized by bizarre behavior.

PriMed’s Dr. Stasia Wieber, director of the Fairfield County Sleep Center, shares her expertise on the disorder with ABC’s interviewer JuJu Change below.

About Dr. Stasia Wieber

Dr. Stasia Wieber, board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine, and Sleep Medicine, is director of the Fairfield County Sleep Center. The sleep center, fully accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), offers a comprehensive approach to all sleep disorders including snoring, insomnia, difficulty sleeping, excessive daytime tiredness, restless sleep and leg movements, sleep apnea, periodic limb movements, sleep walking, and sleepiness.

Dr. Wieber has been in practice since 1999 and has not only authored and contributed to more than a dozen research articles published in leading medical journals, but has also appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” discussing insomnia treatment options. She hopes to raise public awareness of sleep disorders and their link to other serious health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

To learn more about the Fairfield County Sleep Center and Dr. Stasia Wieber, visit ctsleep.com.

Dr. Anthony Mongillo is a founding member of PriMed and in his 28 years of practicing Internal Medicine in the Bridgeport community has cared for thousands of patients. Recently, Joseph Falzetta wrote to the Fairfield MinuteMan about how his routine checkup with Dr. Mongillo and the staff at St Vincent’s Medical Center saved his life.

“…My name is Joseph Falzetta, and I am a true miracle of St. Vincents. It started out by my going to my primary physician, Dr. Anthony Mongillo of Bridgeport Internal Medicine, — sometimes every 3 months or so — for a routine checkup. But this particular time, on Nov. 26, 2010 — my doctor noticed that I was losing a tremendous amount of weight. He sensed that something was terribly wrong. He immediately scheduled an MRI, which was on a Wednesday. To my disbelief, He called me that same day with heartbreaking news…” Read more on Mr. Falzetta’s amazing story.

Stories like Mr. Falzetta’s are why PriMed has an automated health management system in place. This program reflects our commitment to wellness and is invaluable in helping us communicate with our patients via telephone reminders when it’s time to schedule preventative care services or manage chronic conditions.

We are excited to announce that our Endocrinology group at PriMed is now a participating physician site with the Yale University School of Medicine TrialNet Clinical Center.

TrialNet is a network of 18 Clinical Centers working in cooperation with over 150 screening sites (such as PriMed) throughout the United States, Canada, Finland, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. This group of researchers is dedicated to the study, prevention, and early treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes is an autoimmune disease – the immune system makes proteins that attack and destroy the cells of the pancreas that make insulin. These proteins, called autoantibodies, can be found in the blood up to 10 years prior to someone being diagnosed with diabetes. A major goal of TrialNet’s research is to delay or prevent diabetes in people found to have these antibodies.

The TrialNet group is currently screening blood relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes to determine if they have these antibodies, which could mean that they are at greater risk for the development of type 1 diabetes. This screening test (one blood test) can be done, following consent, in our PriMed Endocrinology office at 4699 Main St in Bridgeport, Suite 102. The test will be at no cost to you or your insurance company.

Only approximately 5 people out of every 100 people tested will have these antibodies. If you are found to have antibodies, you will be invited to have further testing at a study center at Yale University. These tests will tell us if you can join a PREVENTION STUDY, which could possibly prevent the development of type 1 diabetes. There are two current type 1 diabetes prevention trials. One is for patients found to be a lower risk for the development of diabetes, and the second for family members are found to be at a great risk for type 1 diabetes.

TrialNet also conducts trials for newly diagnosed patients with type 1 diabetes, and plans to open new similar trials in the near future. The goal of these studies is to protect the remaining beta cells left, thereby prolonging the “honeymoon” period which can make diabetes easier to manage.

You can learn more about TrialNet by visiting www.diabetestrialnet.org. For more information about PriMed and TrialNet, please contact Elizabeth Doyle, APRN with PriMed Endocrinology at (203) 374-6162.

In conjunction with this ground-breaking alliance and screening test, PriMed will also be hosting a diabetes Q&A session on May 4th at 6pm at 999 Silver Lane, Trumbull CT (3rd floor) with a certified diabetes instructor.

You’ll learn:
• The latest diabetes information
• The different kinds of diabetes
• The typical course of diabetes
• Different diabetes treatment and tests
• Good blood sugar control
• Low or high blood sugar symptoms
• Meal planning and physical activity
• Helpful diabetes resources

So join us on May 4th at 6pm at 999 Silver Lane, Trumbull CT (3rd floor). See you then!