天涯社区官网

10 facts you should know about diabetes

Monique Ellis our consultant managing the role
Posting date: 19/10/2016

Diabetes is a disease that affects around people worldwide and is estimated to kill someone every 6 seconds. Studies suggest that by 2040, approximately 642 million people will have the disease, so it鈥檚 currently a major point of focus for many pharmaceutical companies worldwide. 天涯社区官网 would like to raise awareness of diabetes with a few facts about the disease, including some of the different drugs currently available and exciting new medications forecast for the future.

  1. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is a chronic disease that causes a person鈥檚 immune system to attack insulin-producing cells, meaning they have no insulin to help their bodies to absorb and process glucose. Instead, it stores up in their blood and can cause serious .
  2. Type 2 diabetes, however, is inextricably linked with poor nutrition and lifestyle. A patient鈥檚 cells do not respond properly to insulin, meaning that the body cannot use the insulin produced by the pancreas to manage glucose levels. It usually appears in adults over 40 years, particularly those who are overweight, and accounts for .
  3. Daily doses of insulin (usually dispensed by an injection) are vital to a patient鈥檚 day-to-day survival. Type 1 diabetes is not caused by weight and lifestyle and is usually diagnosed during childhood between 9-14 years. Diagnosis can still occur in adulthood, particularly in young adults.
  4. Symptoms of diabetes can often go unnoticed, especially with type 2 which has a slow onset.  to look out for include excessive hunger and thirst, more frequent urination, weight loss, increased fatigue and slow healing wounds.
  5. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a combination of tablets, healthy eating and increased exercise. See some examples of current type 2 medications . It is thought that type 2 diabetes can be completely reversed if diagnosed early and managed well.
  6. The  are Sanofi鈥檚 Lantus injection (insulin glargine [rDNA origin]) and Merk鈥檚 Januvia tablets (Sitagliptin) with sales of $6.98 billion and $3.86 billion in 2015, respectively. They were also major breakthroughs in the treatment of diabetes at the time of their release in the early 2000s.
  7. There are many types of injections and each has a different way of treating the disease. For example, best-seller Lantus works by , whereas NovoLog, a rapid-acting insulin injection, regulates the glucose metabolism by binding insulin receptors to muscle and fat and controlling the output of glucose from the liver.
  8. Novo Nordisk A/S is currently investing a huge amount of money into making it possible for patients with type 1 diabetes to take their drugs via . They are in the advanced stages of testing an oral version of a GLP-1 (drugs that stimulate the pancreas) as well as oral insulin. This is largely in response to a high demand from patients for an alternative to injections to make it easier to dispense insulin every day.
  9. The world鈥檚  was approved by the FDA on September 28th 2016. This hopes to make diabetes more manageable for patients with type 1 diabetes by using a sensor and pump that adjusts insulin levels with minimal input needed.
  10. Complications of diabetes (for both types) can include heart attacks, strokes, limb amputation and blindness, so managing the disease well is crucial for all patients with this disease. 

If you would like to be involved in the process of developing medications for diabetes and other major diseases, you could consider a career in life sciences working for one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world.

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