Drumroll, please.

SO HERE IT IS! The very first issue of diaTribe, and we hope it's just the beginning. Here at Close Concerns, we are passionate about diabetes: understanding it, writing about it, not to mention managing it. (Many of us have it, some since we were children.).

As a patient-focused newsletter, diaTribe represents a new chapter for Close Concerns. Some readers may already know that we have an industry newsletter called Diabetes Close Up (DCU), which covers new research, conferences, and product launches. We travel all over the world for the timeliest information, we have access to America's leading diabetes researchers and clinicians, and we've developed unmatched expertise in the business of this disease. But until now, none of these efforts benefited the people who needed them most: the patients! With diaTribe, we intend to change that.

Our mission is to leverage our knowledge to give our readers the information they need. Unlike other newsletters, diaTribe is not just straight reporting, and it is not for everyone. As the name suggests, we are going to have an opinion. We might rant, we might rave, we might lament or celebrate, but we will always inform and enlighten. And we hope to reach that exquisite tribe of readers who are smart about diabetes, who believe in intensive management, and who are eager to learn more for themselves, perhaps, or a loved one.

Diabetes is a large and complicated field from multinational pharmaceutical companies to sprawling clinics, from prestigious academic centers to remote research labs. It is filled with exciting breakthroughs and heartbreaking disappointments, but ultimately it's about patients: you and me who want to live long, healthy lives. We believe diaTribe will help give you the information you need to live the life you want.

Our columns include:

• test drive - our personal, no-holds-barred experience with new drugs and devices

• new now next - short takes on the latest happenings from all over the diabetes and obesity worlds

• logbook - a look at the human drama of diabetes by best-selling author James S. Hirsch

• learning curve - a closer look at the science behind the news

• thinking like a pancreas - diabetes management tips from one our favorite diabetes educators, Gary Scheiner

• sum musings - perspectives on a life with diabetes by acclaimed "Six Until Me" diabetes social media expert Kerri Sparling

• diaTribe dialogue - excerpts of our conversations with key clinicians that we converse with regularly, who share with us lessons from their offices and labs

• trial watch - a synopsis of currently recruiting diabetes and obesity-related clinical trials

• fingersticks - our humorous, illustrated renditions of diabetes and obesity topics

• quotable quotes - the best quotes about diabetes and obesity that we’ve recently heard

• conference pearls - what we consider the biggest news from major and under-the-radar-screen conferences that we attend

• what we're reading - highlights of the top 5 percent of our monthly reading on diabetes (we review 25 magazines and journals per issue).

And because diaTribe is about you, please don't hesitate to contact us with comments or suggestions at contact@diatribe.us. We're all in this together, so we look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and support!