Diabetes Research: An Overview
In recent years, advances in
diabetes research have led to better ways of managing the condition and treating its complications.
This research is being conducted by a number of different organizations. Many government agencies sponsor this research, including:
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- The Indian Health Service
- The Health Resources and Services Administration
- The Department of Veterans Affairs
- The Department of Defense.
Many organizations outside the government support diabetes research and education activities. These organizations include:
- The American Diabetes Association
- The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
- The American Association of Diabetes Educators
- Pharmaceutical companies.
Recent Advances in Diabetes Research
Recent major advances in research into diabetes include:
- Development of quick-acting and long-acting insulins
- Better ways to monitor blood glucose and for people with diabetes to check their own blood glucose levels, including advances in noninvasive blood glucose monitoring
- Development of external insulin pumps that deliver insulin, replacing daily injections
- Laser treatment for diabetic eye disease, reducing the risk of blindness
- Successful kidney and pancreas transplantation in people whose kidneys fail because of diabetes
- Better ways of managing diabetes in pregnant women, improving their chances of a successful
delivery
- New drugs to treat type 2 diabetes and better ways to manage it through weight control
- Evidence that intensive management of blood glucose reduces and may prevent development of diabetes-related complications
- Demonstration that two types of antihypertensive drugs -- ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) -- are more effective than other antihypertensive drugs in reducing a decline in kidney function in people with diabetes
- Promising results with islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes reported by the University of Alberta in Canada
- Evidence that people at high risk for type 2 diabetes can lower their chances of developing the disease through diet, weight loss, and physical activity.
