The sweet truth about diabetes

A study that commenced in 1983, has confirmed that, diabetics who tightly control their blood sugar levels can cut their risk of heart attacks and strokes to half.
The study that was federally funded was carried out by Dr. David Nathan and his colleagues from the Harvard Medical School, Boston.

During the study, researchers continued to follow 1,394 subjects, suffering from type 1 diabetes, from 1983 to 2005. They were administered multiple injections of insulin - five or six per day, compared with the conventional one or two injections. After the first 10 years of research, researchers reported that intensive glucose control dramatically reduced the eye, kidney and nerve damage that usually accompanies diabetes. To establish the results of such a routine in the long run the research was continued till 2005. The results of this extended research showed, that, the diabetics strictly controlling their blood sugar levels were 42 percent less likely to experience any kind of heart problem and 57 percent less likely to suffer the most serious problems, such as heart attacks or strokes.

In a statement, Dr. Nathan said, "This is the most important diabetes news of the year. This is the remaining piece of the puzzle with regard to our ability to take the teeth out of diabetes and make it a less dangerous disease. The risk of heart disease is 10 times higher in people with Type1 diabetes than in people without diabetes. Maintaining tight control is difficult, but its advantages are huge."

The results, though currently only proven for Type 1 diabetes, are expected to hold for Type 2 diabetes as well.

It may be mentioned here that there is only a small difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. While type 1 diabetics are unable to produce the right amount of insulin in the body, type 2 diabetics, are unable to effectively assimilate and use it. Both types of the affliction however are equally involved in, causing blindness, kidney failures, heart diseases and strokes.

Putting his stamp of approval on the study, Dr. Robert Rizza, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic and the President of the American Diabetes Association, said, "This is truly an important study. And I usually don't say that."