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In Russia, every tenth is sick with diabetes. At the same time, not everyone knows about their illness. Why is diabetes dangerous and what are doctors and scientists doing to find more effective ways to treat it?
November 14 is World Diabetes Day. This is an occasion to think about how things are with its spread in Russia and in the world, how dangerous this disease is and what scientists are doing to better understand it, and therefore improve treatment methods.
Why November 14th? The fact is that it was on this day that Frederick Grant Banting was born, who in 1922, together with Charles Herbert Best, discovered insulin, a medicine that saves the lives of people with diabetes. And it was in his honor that the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), together with the World Health Organization (WHO), established this day in 1991 as a symbol of the increasing incidence of diabetes in the world.
Russia: every tenth
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin, which leads to a violation of carbon metabolism and, as a result, an imbalance in all types of metabolism in the body. It is the leading cause of death from cardiovascular disease, blindness and amputation of the lower extremities.
There is insulin-dependent or type I diabetes and non-insulin dependent or type II diabetes. Type I diabetes usually affects young people under 30 years of age. One of the reasons is the body’s production of antibodies that affect the cells of the pancreas responsible for the synthesis of insulin. This is a chronic disease that requires constant injections of insulin.
Type II diabetes affects the older generation. In such patients, the cells of the pancreas produce a sufficient amount of insulin, but the body’s sensitivity to it is reduced. The main risk factors for the development of this type of diabetes are obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle. “Today, almost every 10th Russian has diabetes, but more than half of patients are unaware of their disease,” says Ivan Dedov, President of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RAMS, President of the Russian Association of Endocrinologists. — According to the data of the Russian state register of patients with diabetes mellitus, the prevalence of type II diabetes mellitus in Russia is 3,2%, while, according to IDF data, this figure is almost 3 times higher in the world and is 8,3%, and in Russia can reach 9,7%.
Undoubtedly, domestic medical institutions should more actively inform us about the problem of diabetes. Now the Russian Diabetes Association is puzzled by this more than others. “We want to attract public attention, talk about prevention and the need for regular monitoring of their health, especially for people at risk,” says Valentina Peterkova, President of the Russian Diabetes Association, Director of the Research Institute of Pediatric Endocrinology, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
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- Overweight… family history
Can’t do without insulin
Its timely appointment avoids the development of serious complications. To date, the most modern insulins are analog. They are closer in mechanism of action to human insulin, but are safer and better tolerated than other types of insulin. Analog insulins help to achieve compensation of diabetes mellitus with a low risk of developing hypoglycemia. This year, Russia began the production of innovative insulins in a full cycle. In Orel, at the Sanofi plant, they began to produce human genetically engineered insulin and human insulin analogues. Both in short and long acting forms, which is very important for patients who have built their lives in accordance with a certain duration of action of insulin, which they have been treated for many years.
And humanity, meanwhile, is waiting for the development of radically new methods of combating diabetes.
3 patients with diabetes mellitus were registered in the Russian Federation as of January 779, 423, of which 1 were patients with type 2013 diabetes and 325 were patients with type II diabetes.
Numeral
According to the State Register
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- “Eating well is not easy”
Diabetes and cancer – treatment compatible
Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine found that the anti-cancer drug aflibercept, which prevents blood vessels from growing in the tumor and deprives it of oxygen, simultaneously lowers blood sugar*. This was proved by experiments with mice and observation of patients. The mechanism is as follows: with the introduction of the drug, liver cells, together with tumor cells, experience a lack of oxygen and, as compensation, begin to produce a specific HIF-2 alpha protein. It activates the synthesis and release of the insulin receptor into the blood. And that, in turn, enhances the ability of cells to respond to insulin and increase sugar tolerance.
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- Make peace with fatty foods
Treatment of diabetes with light
Biologists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich)**, led by Martin Fussenegger, conducted experiments on diabetic mice by introducing a gene that responds to the work of a light-sensitive pigment from the human retina. Then they illuminated the dwellings of the experimental animals with blue light. And even later, they conducted a luminous optical fiber to genetically modified cells. In both cases, the sugar level dropped sharply to normal values.
You still need to diet
Yes, any restriction is unpleasant, but in the case of diabetes, the culinary variety should be reduced, but this way you can protect yourself from a large number of ailments.
Recommended for diabetics***:
1. Skimmed dairy products: milk, kefir, cottage cheese.
2. Vegetables: eggplant, peas, zucchini, white and cauliflower, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, root parsley, tomatoes, rhubarb, radishes, turnips, lettuce, beets, celery, soybeans, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, beans , garlic, spinach.
3. Fruits and berries: quince, barberry, cranberries, cherries, pears, wild strawberries, strawberries, cranberries, gooseberries, raspberries, mountain ash, all kinds of currants, apples.
4. Meat and poultry: chicken, rabbit, veal, lamb, lean pork.
5. Low-fat sea fish.
6. Bread: rye and bran (the amount of bread – no more than 150 g per day).
7. Cereals: buckwheat and oatmeal (50-60 g per day).
8. Fats: butter and vegetable oil (50-70 g, depending on body weight).
9. Soy products.
*http://mednews.stanford.edu/
**Science 24, Vol. 332 no. 6037 pp. 1565-1568, June 2011
***E. Andreeva, A. Neganova, N. Levanova “Popular diagnostic guide”, OLMA Media Group, 2007
Erection problems in diabetes
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common complications of diabetes. But it not only complicates sex, but is also the first manifestation of atherosclerosis. 57% of men who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and 64% of myocardial infarction had previously suffered from ED. Of course, with the advent of Viagra in 1998, a revolution occurred in andrology. Viagra came to the rescue means of a more prolonged action – “Cialis” and “Levitra”. But for patients with type II diabetes, these drugs are not enough: combination therapy using male sex hormones (androgens) is necessary.