Diabetes: One Treatment Doesn’t Fit All
Reported April 09, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Patients with type 2 diabetes generally receive the same treatment, despite the fact that they may have underlying differences that could affect their therapeutic response.
Treatment for diabetes is aimed at lowering glycemic levels to as close to the non-diabetic range as is safely possible. Only slightly more than half of diabetes patients reach their glycemic targets, however, leaving a substantial population exposed to prolonged periods of damaging hyperglycemia.
Seeking to address this critical health issue, an international multidisciplinary group of experts has issued a consensus statement of recommendations for individualized treatment. The experts believe further insight into the differences among diabetes patients, both physiologic and genetic, should enable physicians to improve glycemic control, maximize individual benefit, minimize risk, reduce diabetes complications and ultimately provide reductions in global health cost.
“Recent advances in genetics, such as the identification of the responsible genes for several forms of Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY), have established precedents linking specific drug therapies to defined subtypes of diabetes patients,” co-author Robert Smith, M.D., of Brown University, was quoted as saying. “As more genetic factors related to type 2 diabetes are identified and as our understanding of the progression of the disease evolves, we can expect to gain precision in identifying the best drug choices for individual patients and to more effectively halt the progression of diabetes.”
“The progress already seen has stemmed from combining discoveries of specific genetic susceptibilities with clinical observations,” Robert A. Vigersky, M.D., president of The Endocrine Society, was quoted as saying. “As we move forward, we should continue to incorporate these and additional clinical observations with new data on the physiology and genetics of diabetes to assess which patients will benefit most from specific treatments. The recommendations in this consensus statement highlight the need for the research community and industry to each play their part in improving our ability to individualize therapy so that patients can get the most accurate and appropriate treatment.”
The consensus statement includes a series of recommendations for increasing understanding of diabetes and achieving the goal of individualizing therapy and improving treatment response. Recommendations included extending analysis of existing data and data sources, expanding existing data registries or develop new ones, developing new clinical trials and developing new technologies.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), April 2010