Diabetes knowledge, treatment and prevention strategies advance daily. Treatment is aimed at keeping blood glucose near normal levels at all times. Training in self-management is integral to the treatment of diabetes. Treatment must be individualized and must address medical, psychosocial and lifestyle issues.

Type 1 Treatment

Lack of insulin production by the pancreas makes type 1 diabetes particularly difficult to control. Treatment requires a strict regimen that typically includes a carefully calculated diet, planned physical activity, home blood glucose testing several times a day and multiple daily insulin injections.

Type 2 Treatment

Treatment typically includes diet control, exercise, home blood glucose testing, and in some cases, oral medication and/or insulin. About 40 percent of people with type 2 diabetes require insulin injections.

Prevention

A number of studies have shown that regular physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It also appears to be associated with obesity. Researchers are making progress in identifying the exact genetics and "triggers" that predispose some individuals to develop type 1 diabetes, but prevention, as well as a cure, remains elusive.

Is There A Cure?

In response to the growing health burden of diabetes, the medical community has three choices: prevent diabetes, cure diabetes, and take better care of people with diabetes to prevent devastating complications. All three approaches are actively being pursued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Both the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are involved in prevention activities. The NIH is involved in research to cure both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, especially type 1.

Several approaches to "cure" diabetes are being pursued:

Pancreas transplantation
Islet cell transplantation (islet cells produce insulin) (More Information)
Artificial pancreas development
Genetic manipulation (fat or muscle cells that don't normally make insulin have a human insulin gene inserted -- then these pseudo islet cells are transplanted into people with type 1 diabetes).

Each of these approaches still has a lot of challenges, such as preventing immune rejection; finding an adequate number of insulin cells; keeping cells alive; and others. But progress is being made in all areas.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention