The following information on treatments for diabetes is from the National Diabetes Fact Sheet: National estimates and general information on diabetes in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, 1997): 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.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in your blood.

Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be controlled by insulin injections. Insulin cannot be taken in tablet form because it is destroyed by the acids in the stomach. Insulin injections are usually self-administered into the skin of the abdomen two or four times a day, using either a traditional hypodermic needle or a "pen" type syringe with refillable cartridges. There are different kinds of insulin that work at different rates and act for different lengths of time.

Both Type I and Type II diabetes treatments recommend a sound diabetic diet plan and regular physical activity. Type I diabetes also requires insulin injections and frequent blood glucose testing. Type II diabetes may also require oral medication, insulin, or both to control blood glucose levels. All those with diabetes should see their health care provider for help in creating a diabetic diet plan and diabetes treatment strategy.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have achieved prolonged reversal of diabetes via transplantation of pig islets in monkeys, one step away from humans. Pig islet graft survival was made possible with a novel immunosuppressive protocol. Survival required neither genetic modification of donor pigs nor coating or encapsulation of donor islets.

Researchers have already had success reversing type 1 diabetes in humans through islet transplantation; however, the demand for islet cells grossly outweighs the supply. In order to make islet transplantation a viable solution for the tens of thousands of people with difficult to manage diabetes, a safe and reliable source of islet cells must be found.

Anyone aged 45 years or older should consider getting tested for diabetes, especially if you are overweight. If you are younger than 45, but are overweight and have one or more additional risk factors (see below), you should consider testing.

People with blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range have "pre-diabetes." Doctors sometimes call this condition impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it. Insulin resistance and pre-diabetes usually have no symptoms. You may have one or both conditions for several years without noticing anything. If you have pre-diabetes, you have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

People who think they might have diabetes must visit a physician for diagnosis. They might have SOME or NONE of the following symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains may accompany some of these symptoms in the abrupt onset of insulin-dependent diabetes, now called type 1 diabetes.

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.

In response to the growing health burden of diabetes mellitus (diabetes), the diabetes 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 US Department of Health and Human Services. Both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are involved in prevention activities.