About endodoc.org
Purpose
I intend to provide information about pediatric endocrinology for people who have or might have endocrine conditions, their families, and friends
I am David Evan Goldstein, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center in Columbia, Missouri. I hope to offer some thought-provoking points of view regarding management of this or that endocrine condition. In addition, I will weigh in on other aspects of health care, such as the health care system and what should we do about it (for starters, we need to develop a system!).
Current Position
My current job title is Professor Emeritus. I joined the faculty in 1978 and served as Director of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology until my retirement in 2003. I still see quite a few patients with endocrine disorders and I direct the Children’s Health and Fitness Clinic, a program for overweight children.
Education
I was quite the traveler for my formal education. I attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota (a.b., 1965); the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (M.D., 1969); Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (pediatric internship, 1969-70); Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (pediatric residency, 1970-72); and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (fellowship in pediatric endocrinology, 1975-78).
Research
In addition to my busy clinical practice, I have conducted many research studies. My research has been focused mostly on diabetes mellitus; specifically, I have been very interested in the relationship between blood glucose control and the development and progression of diabetes complications. I consider myself fortunate to have been one of the principal investigators for the National Institutes of Health-sponsored, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, or the DCCT. That study established conclusively that blood glucose control (as assessed by serial hemoglobin A1c measurements), predicts risks for diabetes complications.
Even aside from the DCCT, I have been very interested in hemoglobin A1c testing; my laboratory, the University of Missouri Diabetes Diagnostic Laboratory, developed the current world-wide standardization of the test to DCCT numbers- this has allowed comparable test results among laboratories (I intend to discuss this important issue at some length in an upcoming website entry).
At present, it is not my goal to have this website provide a comprehensive survey of pediatric endocrinology. There are already a number of excellent textbooks.. Instead I want to address a wide variety of issues that I feel are either poorly understood by many people, or simply, are of particular interest to me. I will welcome suggestions for topics.
Disclaimer
It is important for the reader to understand that none of the views expressed by me on the website are those of the University of Missouri or any other organization that I may be or have been associated with. In addition, it is important for the reader to understand that none of the information on the website is to be considered a recommendation for the medical management of any individual patient; that task is best accomplished by the patient and his or her health-care provider(s).
Topics to be discussed in the near future include: why and what to do about the twin epidemics of childhood obesity and diabetes; how to tell if your child has anything wrong his or her thyroid gland; how to tell if your child is growing fast enough; understanding the hemoglobin A1c test, the key to achieving well-controlled diabetes; and what ails the U.S. health care system.