Diabetes Mellitus News: Diabetes Mellitus Cases Hit 366 Million
Diabetes Mellitus Cases Hit 366 Million
The number of people now living with diabetes mellitus has reached 36 million, healthcare experts said at a United Nations meeting Tuesday. According to Reuters, the disease kills one person every seven seconds and poses a “massive challenge” to global healthcare systems.
Of these millions of cases, most have diabetes Type 2—one that is linked to a poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise. The problem is spreading as more and more people worldwide begin to adopt Western lifestyles.
The disease, once contracted, causes diabetics to have inadequate blood sugar control, leading to heart disease and stroke, damage to the kidneys and nerves, and even blindness. According to Reuters, worldwide deaths from diabetes now number at about 4.6 million every year.
“The IDF’s latest Atlas data are proof indeed that diabetes is a massive challenge the world can no longer afford to ignore,” said IDF President Jean Claude Mbanya. “In 2011, one person is dying from diabetes every seven seconds.”
Mbanya recommended more research that would seek to find a way to strengthen global health systems in dealing with the disease. Older classes of diabetes drugs are becoming available, also helping diabetics worldwide manage their condition in a more cost-effective manner.
According to IMS Health, global sales of diabetes medication totaled $35 billion last year alone. By 2015, that number could be $48 billion.
Onglyza reduces blood sugar levels: study
Pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca have announced results from an investigational phase 3b clinical study of use of Onglyza (saxagliptin) in diabetic patients.
The study was based on the addition of Onglyza (saxagliptin) 5mg to ongoing insulin therapy (with or without metformin) to maintain reductions in blood sugar levels (glycosylated hemoglobin levels, or HbA1c) in adult patients with type 2 diabetes compared to the addition of placebo (with or without metformin) from 24 to 52 weeks.
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These results, presented at the 47th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, are from an extension of a 24-week trial, the results of which were presented at the 71st American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions in San Diego, CA in June 2011.
In the 52-week analysis, change from baseline in HbA1c in patients taking Onglyza 5 mg added to insulin was -0.75% compared to -0.38% for those taking placebo added to insulin, a statement from the company said.
There was also a greater increase from baseline mean daily insulin dose in patients who received placebo compared to patients who received Onglyza 5 mg.
It is unknown whether increased insulin doses by patients in the placebo group could have affected the magnitude of differences seen between the two treatment groups in the efficacy analyses, it said.
The proportion of patients in each treatment group who experienced at least one adverse event over the 52-week treatment period was similar. The most common events included hypoglycemia, urinary tract infection, nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, headache and bronchitis.
“Since many patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually require insulin, it is important to assess a compound’s ability to be used in combination with insulin to manage blood glucose control over the long term,” said Anthony Barnett, MD, University of Birmingham and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and principal investigator of the study.
“This is the first longer-term study to report that Onglyza 5 mg, used with insulin, maintains improvement in glucose control over 24 to 52 weeks in adult patients with type 2 diabetes”, he said.
In Europe, Onglyza is indicated as a once-daily 5 mg oral tablet dose in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycemic control – in combination with metformin.
When metformin alone, with diet and exercise, does not provide adequate glycemic control; in combination with a sulphonylurea, when sulphonylurea alone, with diet and exercise, does not provide adequate glycemic control in patients for whom use of metformin is considered inappropriate; or in combination with a thiazolidinedione, when the thiazolidinedione alone, with diet and exercise, does not provide adequate glycemic control in patients for whom use of a thiazolidinedione is considered appropriate.
Onglyza is currently not indicated in combination with insulin therapy, the statement said.
In the United States, Onglyza is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glycemic) control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in multiple clinical settings.
Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Risk Reduced By Regular Exercise: Study
Diabetes mellitus type 2 may be largely preventable, after new research has shown that physical inactivity has a direct impact on a person’s ability to control their blood sugar levels.
University of Missouri researchers showed that after just three days of limiting their physical activity, participants had significantly impaired post-meal glucose control.
However, these changes were reversed after just moderate exercise, Medical Daily reports.
Lead author John Thyfault said, “A single bout of moderate exercise can improve the way the body maintains glucose homeostasis (blood glucose regulation) and reduce post-prandial glucose.”
But he warned that “becoming inactive for a short period of time quickly disrupts glucose homeostasis.”
“This study shows that physical activity directly impacts health issues that are preventable,” Thyfault said, reports Medical Daily.
“Even in the short term, reducing daily activity and ceasing regular exercise causes acute changes in the body associated with diabetes that can occur before weight gain and the development of obesity,” he said.
Due to escalating type 2 diabetes rates, he added that more needs to be done to prevent the condition.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 79 million people in the U.S. suffer from prediabetes.
The condition, which often develops into type 2 diabetes, is characterized by abnormal glucose levels.
The findings suggest that encouraging people to become more physically active may be a good starting point, Medical Daily reports.
“It is recommended that people take about 10,000 steps each day. Recent evidence shows that most Americans are only taking about half of that, or 5,000 steps a day,” Thyfault said.
“This chronic inactivity leads to impaired glucose control and increases the risk of developing diabetes,” he pointed out, Medical Daily reports.
The study, “Lowering Physical Activity Impairs Glycemic Control in Healthy Volunteers,” will be published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.