The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Panic overshadows strides in diabetes management

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Panic overshadows strides in diabetes management

Special Correspondent

Technology growth changes treatment

CHENNAI: In the panic that seems to be building up around the growing numbers of diabetics in the country, the bright side of things — rapid technological advances that have made management of the condition more efficient — tend to get overshadowed.

An `exponential growth' in the technology that has governed the diagnosis and treatment of impaired insulin secretion has occurred in the last decade or so, some diabetologists believe. From the discovery of insulin in 1921, progress has been made in every decade. Today, technology has not only brought the laboratory to the patient's home, but also promises to genetically re-engineer the human being to be free from diabetes.

From purer versions of insulin to better modes of delivery, more efficient oral drugs to control Type 2 diabetes and continuous glucose monitoring systems, innovations in the West have all trickled down to India. Battles in board rooms of pharma companies have led to reduction in prices, making advanced technology affordable.

It was from 1976 that the pace of research accelerated following a study published in the U.S. that predicted that all insulin-dependent diabetics would die by 1992 since the demand for insulin could never be met by its supply. In four years, the first genetically engineered product in medicine - synthetic insulin - was ready, V. Mohan, chairman, Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, says. Thenceforth, pharma companies focused on making insulin `designer.'

The traditional needle/syringe that was cumbersome to use and required cold storage gave way to pens and pumps, making it easier for patients to self-administer, with little or no pain. Though pens seemed to revolutionalise things at that time, a further improvement was waiting in the wings — the insulin pump. This can be programmed to deliver the exact quantity of insulin at the right time. Exciting molecules have been introduced as oral supplements for Type 2 diabetics in the U.S, Vijay Vishwanathan, M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, says.

Even with diagnosis, home monitoring of blood glucose is possible. The price of the monitor has dropped by half in two years and negotiations are on to reduce the price of the test strips. "In the last 15 years, the approach and management of diabetes has changed entirely," A. Paneerselvam, Chennai-based diabetologist attests. The future too, is bright, he says, with genetic engineering and stem cell therapy.

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