During its almost 40-year history, LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge has built a reputation as a global leader in medical research and discovery, particularly in the highly specialized realm of metabolic health and endocrine disorders.
But today, at the Advanced Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic under the leadership of Lake Charles-native Dr. Timothy Gilbert, the Center’s mission continues to expand beyond pure research to encompass direct patient treatment, too.
Dr. Gilbert, who brings more than 20 years’ experience as an endocrinologist to Baton Rouge, noted that the demand for high quality endocrine care vastly outpaces the availability of endocrinologists to treat it. Many patients suffering from disorders like Types 1 and 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, endocrine hypertension, obesity, PCOS, as well as thyroid, adrenal, and pancreatic diseases, end up waiting months to receive care, or traveling far from home to receive it.
Approaching its one-year anniversary, Pennington Biomedical’s Advanced Endocrinology and Diabetes clinic not only provides care for all with endocrine disorders it offers a new and much needed source of care for Louisiana’s underserved patients experiencing endocrine disorders. The clinic directly connects patients to cutting-edge therapies and clinical trials—many of them developed right here, on Pennington Biomedical’s campus.
“The idea was, ‘We have some of the world’s best scientists at Pennington working on novel treatments for these endocrine related disease states. As a result we have knowledge and treatment opportunities that are often not yet available to the lay community,’’ explained Dr. Gilbert. “We are harnessing the knowledge from decades of cutting edge research and merging it into a clinical endocrinology practice greatly expanding our treatment opportunities."
One study that Dr. Gilbert is currently evaluating for his patients researches how metformin—one of a class of diabetes medications known as biguanides—might reduce metabolic risk in non-diabetic patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. Another study is exploring how patients taking the popular weight-loss drugs Zepbound or Wegovy without attaining their desired weight reduction, might benefit from alternating doses of Amgen’s weight-loss drug Maritide at four- or eight-week intervals. Another unique study is exploring the first new treatment option available in decades for patients living with Graves’ disease.
“Pennington Biomedical has 80 to 90 studies going on at any given time,” noted Dr. Gilbert. “There are studies like these that I might be able to enroll patients in, and knowledge gleaned from those studies that can help me guide other patients in their treatment.”
In addition to access to the latest research and treatments, patients at Pennington Biomedical’s clinic also benefit from Dr. Gilbert’s unified approach. Insulin-dependent diabetes patients, for example, are evaluated by their physician, have their labs done, select the right insulin pump for their lifestyle and receive hands-on training from Pennington’s in-house diabetes educators.
“At the clinic, we have the ability to pull up the patient’s glucose readings, their insulin pump reports and see what’s happening in real time, so that we can make suggestions to them on a regular basis,” said Dr. Gilbert. “We have a hand in it all the way, through every step.”
Nationally, some of the few other places patients can find a marriage between research and treatment on this scale include the globally renowned Cleveland and Mayo clinics.
“We’ve already been able to make a big difference for a large population of patients here in Baton Rouge and around the state,” said Dr. Gilbert. Because the clinic accepts Medicaid, when many others in the area do not, Pennington Biomedical has been able to reach patients who otherwise wouldn’t have easy access to endocrinology care and treatments.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Advanced Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic is open from 8 am–4:40 pm, Monday–Friday. To make an appointment, have your provider submit a referral via fax (225-763-0256) or email (endocrinology@pbrc.edu), or call directly at (225) 763-0250. Learn more at www.pbrc.edu/diabetesclinic.
