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Report: Individualized treatments needed for diabetes patients

Category: Diabetes

According to a recent report to be published in the April 2010 issue of the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are often treated similarly even though there are significant differences in the specifics of their condition.

A panel of experts found that while nearly 24 million people are treated for diabetes each year, only about half of patients reach the glycemic targets set by their physicians. The group of medical authorities came to the conclusion that individualized treatments for patients are necessary to improve glycemic control, reduce diabetes complications and decrease national healthcare costs.

"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," said Robert Smith, professor at Brown University and co-author of the report.

The panel recommended the expansion of basic research to explore the fundamental issues that create varied responses to traditional diabetes treatments.