Recent years have witnessed the ascent of newer treatments for diabetes, in particular of SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists, combined with a growing appreciation of their potential to help manage not just hyperglycaemia but other comorbidities too. In the case of SGLT-2 inhibitors, this widening understanding has depended upon (and in turn has prompted) a steady stream of new trials investigating the cardiorenal benefits of this drug class.

EASD e-Learning has been tracking these developments ever since the platform launched five years ago. Modules on SGLT-2 inhibitors were among its first launches in 2018, and as new trials have reported, additional modules have been added to keep learners abreast of developments – resulting in the course expanding to a total of nine modules. 

As Dr Eleanor D Kennedy, EASD e-Learning’s Programme Director, explains: “The last five years have been an exciting period of innovation in diabetes research and care, presenting the EASD’s fledgling e-Learning platform with wonderful opportunities to help diabetes professionals keep abreast of the latest developments. The platform is now moving beyond its initial growth phase and able to focus on consolidating and rationalising content to improve the learner experience. We are thrilled to relaunch our SGLT-2 inhibitors course with new content that is fully up to date and consolidated into fewer, more comprehensive modules. This should reduce the amount of time learners require to complete the course, and make it easier for them to access the information they want on specific aspects of the drug class.”

The new SGLT-inhibitor course has been condensed down to four modules. The first (written and presented by Professor David Matthews) is not much changed from the original module 1 of this course, providing an introductory history of the drug class and explanation of their mode of action. The second (also from Professor Matthews), like its predecessor focuses on the gliflozins’ efficacy and safety but has been radically revised to reflect the latest trial results and real-world evidence, providing an overview of all aspects of the SGLT-2 inhibitors’ performance, including glycaemia, renal glucose excretion, blood pressure and weight change. 

Modules 3 (from Professor John Wilding) and 4 (from Professor Miles Fisher) delve deeper into the drugs’ cardiorenal benefits – Professor Wilding examining the role of SGLT-2 inhibitors in renal protection for people with diabetes; Professor Fisher looking at their role in cardiovascular disease, heart failure in particular.

All four modules include extensive animations to illustrate the drug class’s mechanism of action as well as the results of key Phase 3 trials. As with all the EASD e-Learning courses, each module includes two or more case studies enabling users to apply their learning to practical clinical scenarios. The comprehensive end-of-module assessment, which learners can take in order to obtain their certificate of completion, is also heavily tilted towards clinical practice.

The new course entirely replaces the original nine-module course, so learners who have completed modules on the EASD e-Learning platform’s SGLT-2 inhibitors course are invited to renew their knowledge by undertaking these new modules. The older modules have now been retired from the site and are no longer available. However, anyone who has already completed one of the older modules and passed the end-of-module assessment is still able to obtain a certificate of completion from their ‘My account’ page.

To enrol on the new course, go to SGLT-2 inhibitors.

Any opinions expressed in this article are the responsibility of the EASD e-Learning Programme Director, Dr Eleanor D Kennedy.