The Diabetes Epidemic
The Diabetes Epidemic:
The incidence of diabetes is growing significantly and the resulting healthcare costs are rising. There are an estimated 20 million Americans with diabetes, and a recent NIH/CDC study puts the number of Americans with pre-diabetes at more than 50 million. Diabetes is the 5th deadliest disease in US and a leading cause of blindness, end-stage renal disease, and non-traumatic loss of limb as well as a contributor to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease. The overall risk for death among people with diabetes is about two times that of people without diabetes.
The complications of diabetes result in more than $130 billion in public heath care costs annually in the U.S., including direct healthcare costs, disability, work loss and premature death. Approximately $6 billion per year are spent on oral diabetes medications, with $1.4 billion spent annually on metformin alone.
Globally, at least 171 million people have diabetes. The World Heath Organization estimates that the prevalence of diabetes could reach 366 million people worldwide by 2030, including 30 million in the United States alone.
What is Diabetes?
Type 2 Diabetes, which accounts for 90-95% of cases in the U.S., usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly. Insulin is needed for sugars to be able to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.
Pre-Diabetes is a condition that describes individuals who have plasma glucose levels that are higher than normal, but lower than those diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Pre-diabetes patients are exhibiting the first signs of insulin resistance. While current practice guideline recommendations are limited to life-style modifications, several studies have shown that the use of insulin sensitizers or medications to limit the overproduction of hepatic glucose can delay the onset of diabetes.
Diagnosing Diabetes
Controlling blood glucose levels can potentially delay and even prevent some of the devastating complications of diabetes. Glycemic control is often measured using the HbA1c test, which measures a person’s average blood sugar levels over the previous two to three months. The normal range for a person without diabetes is three to six percent, meaning that three to six percent of red blood cells have glucose attached. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) recommends taking action to improve glycemic control when levels are above 6.5 percent. Each percentage point above the normal range of 6.0 percent equates to a 40 percent increase in the progression of complications, such as blindness, kidney failure, and amputation.
"State of Diabetes in America TM" released May 18, 2005 by AACE revealed that from 2003 to 2004, two out of three Americans with type 2 diabetes were not in control of their blood sugar, failing to meet AACE’s target HbA1c goal of 6.5% or less. The Akesis patents uniquely combine anti-diabetic trace minerals — such as chromium vanadium — with several classes of widely prescribed oral diabetes drugs to produce synergistic improvements in glycemic control, as measured by reduction in HbA1c levels.
Diabetes Treatment
Treatment with insulin and oral medications United States, 1999-2001
Source: 1999-2001 National Health Interview Survey
Detailed information about this graph is available.
Oral agents for diabetes can be divided into those that:
- Enhance the effects of insulin, such as metformin (included in Akesis’ patent number 6,376,549)
- Augment the supply of insulin, such as sulfonylureas (included in Akesis’ patent number 6,852,760)
Akesis believes its proprietary formulations will enhance the effectiveness of treatments for both categories of diabetes oral agents.
Sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Diabetes Fact Sheet
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheet.htm
- Worldwide Health Organization
http://www.who.int/diabetes/facts/world_figures/en/
- American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
http://www.aace.com/public/awareness/stateofdiabetes/index.php
- State of Diabetes in America™: Striving for Better Control
http://www.stateofdiabetes.com
- American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics.jsp