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A preventable condition
Keep active: Half an hour of physical activity a day and exercise like regular walking help to reduce your risk of developing diabetes. In contrast, people who spend a lot of time sitting down at work and have a less than ideal diet because they are short of time are at increased risk.
Diabetes: If you know early on that you are in an at-risk group, you have a good chance of avoiding the type 2 form of this condition. A change in lifestyle is important, and a medication developed by Bayer HealthCare can help. It is already being used for prophylaxis in some countries.
It will take you about five minutes to read through to the end of this article. During that time, 60 people all over the world will have been diagnosed with diabetes and 30 will have lost their lives as a result of the consequences of diabetes. Two shocking statistics based on recent calculations by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The prevalence of diabetes, which is now estimated to affect 245 million people throughout the world, has prompted the United Nations (UN) to take action. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 61/225 on December 20, 2006. This recognized diabetes as a “chronic, debilitating and costly disease, associated with severe complications, which poses severe risks for families, Member States and the entire world.” The resolution designated November 14, which has been observed as World Diabetes Day since 1991, as a United Nations Day.
Having looked at the results of previous studies and the side-effect profile of various drugs, his opinion is that in cases where lifestyle changes have not been effective, “the substance acarbose should be the first-choice option as a supplementary treatment.” Acarbose is the active ingredient in Bayer HealthCare’s antidiabetic drug Glucobay. It has been given marketing authorization for the treatment of prediabetes in 25 countries, including China. The International Diabetes Federation estimates the number of diabetics in this country at almost 40 million. The only country with a higher number is India. Effective prevention is therefore a high priority in this booming economic power. Dr. Thorsten Petruschke, describing a study which he is monitoring on behalf of Bayer HealthCare, said, “We hope that this new study will increase our understanding of how effective acarbose can be in preventing both diabetes and recurrent cardiovascular disease.” Diabetes is often the cause of subsequent heart attack or stroke. This is why experts put the global number of deaths due to diabetes at almost four million. The four-year study, due to end in 2011, involves 7,000 people with pre-diabetes. They are all at least 50 years old and have already had a heart attack.
In the meantime, Corinna Hartmann in Dresden is already appreciating the first fruits of her new diet and exercise regime. She has lost 16 kilos. Not only does she feel much better, but she has also significantly reduced her risk of getting diabetes by losing weight.
In the meantime, Corinna Hartmann in Dresden is already appreciating the first fruits of her new diet and exercise regime. She has lost 16 kilos. Not only does she feel much better, but she has also significantly reduced her risk of getting diabetes by losing weight.