SHOWCASE MAGAZINE | 2018
DIABETES
BREAKTHROUGH?
SCIE NT IS TS D I S COV E R 5 D IFFE REN T T YPES
S
CIENTISTS have discovered
five distinct types of diabe-
tes, offering new hope for
better treatments, it was an-
nounced yesterday. Traditionally,
the killer disease has been split
into two types by medics. Type 1
is an auto-immune disease which
cannot currently be cured.
Type 2 on the other hand can be
avoided by making lifestyle chang-
es such as taking more exercise
and eating a healthy diet.
However, in the new study, re-
searchers found that separating
adult-onset diabetes into five dis-
tinct different types - rather than
just type 1 or type 2 - could help
to better tailor early treatment for
patients.
It would also represent a first step
towards precision medicine in the
disease, they said.
In the new analysis, published in
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocri-
nology journal, five types of the
disease were found.
Each had different characteristics
and were associated with differ-
ent complications, illustrating the
varied treatment needs of patients
with diabetes.
Lead author of the new study
Professor Leif Groop, of the
Lund University Diabetes Centre
(LUDC), Sweden, and Institute
for Molecular Medicine Finland
(FIMM), said: “Evidence suggests
that early treatment for diabetes is
crucial to prevent life-shortening
complications.
“More accurately diagnosing
diabetes could give us valuable
insights into how it will develop
over time, allowing us to predict
and treat complications before
they develop.
Type 2 Diabetes: Seven meal
plans for your weight loss diet
He added: “Existing treatment
guidelines are limited by the fact
they respond to poor metabolic
control when it has developed,
but do not have the means to
predict which patients will need
intensified treatment. “This study
moves us towards a more clinically
6
useful diagnosis, and represents an
important step towards precision
medicine in diabetes. ”Research
bodies into the condition in the
UK welcomed the “promising”
new study. Dr Emily Burns, Head
of Research Communications,
said: “Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
are very different conditions, but
we don’t yet know enough about
the subtypes that could exist with-
in them.
“Finding those subtypes will
help us personalise treatments
and potentially reduce the risk of
diabetes-related complications in
the future. “This research takes a
promising step toward breaking
down Type 2 diabetes in more
detail, but we still need to know
more about these subtypes be-
fore we can understand what this
means for people living with the
condition. v“For example, wheth-
er we’d find the same subtypes in
people of different ethnicity or
nationality.”
Rates of diabetes are increasing
worldwide, faster than for any oth-
er disorders, representing a signifi-
cant cause of ill health worldwide.
However, the medical classifi-
cation of diabetes has not been
updated for 20 years and mainly
relies on measuring blood glu-
cose levels. While type 1 diabetes
is generally diagnosed in child-
hood and caused by the body not
producing enough insulin, type
2 diabetes occurs when the body
cannot produce enough insulin
to meet the increased demands
imposed by obesity and insulin
resistance, and typically occurs
later in life. Most diagnosed cases