A REVIEW ON TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrinological and metabolic disorder with an increasing global prevalence and incidence. High blood glucose levels are symptomatic of diabetes mellitus as a consequence of inadequate pancreatic insulin secretion or poor insulin-directed mobilization of glucose by target cells. Diabetes mellitus is aggravated by and associated with metabolic complications that can subsequently lead to premature death. The diagnosis of diabetes in an asymptomatic subject should never be made on the basis of a single abnormal blood glucose value. For the asymptomatic person, at least one additional plasma/blood glucose test result with a value in the diabetic range is essential, either fasting, from a random (casual) sample, or from the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). If such samples fail to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, it will usually be advisable to maintain surveillance with periodic re–testing until the diagnostic situation becomes clear. In these circumstances, the clinician should take into consideration such additional factors as ethnicity, family history, age, adiposity, and concomitant disorders, before deciding on a diagnostic or therapeutic course of action. An alternative to blood glucose estimation or the OGTT has long been sought to simplify the diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that can be prevented through lifestyle modification, diet control, and control of overweight and obesity. Education of the populace is still key to the control of this emerging epidemic. Novel drugs are being developed, yet no cure is available in sight for the disease, despite new insight into the pathophysiology of the disease.