New Diabetes Meds On The Horizon

Diabetes is a disease affecting over 29.1 Million Americans – approximately 9.3% of the population in America. This is according to the American diabetes Association Statistics report from June 2014. Did you know that Diabetes is the 7^th leading cause of death in the US? These are shocking statistics! Did you know that diabetes can kill if not treated correctly? November is Diabetes awareness month so we thought we would take a look at new treatments on the horizon for diabetes. Prevention and early detection can reduce your risk of having to take expensive and long term medication. It’s not always possible to avoid it but leading an active healthy lifestyle with lots of exercise and healthy eating habits can go a long way to preventing the onset of Diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that causes elevated glucose (sugar) levels in the blood. Eating a healthy and low sugar diet can help reduce your risk of getting Diabetes. Diabetes is sub classified into Diabetes Type I and Diabetes Type II. Type 1 Diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin (the hormone that helps to control the levels of sugar in the blood and cells). Type 2 Diabetes is when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells of the body do not respond to insulin properly. Signs and Symptoms of diabetes

• Frequent urination
• Intense thirst and hunger
• Weight gain or unusual weight loss
• Fatigue
• Cuts and bruises that do not heal
• Numbness and tingling in the hands or feet
• Blurry vision

  If you experience these symptoms then go and visit your doctor and have some blood tests done. As we have said before, early diagnosis means treating it sooner. It will help control the disease from getting worse and in some cases can even reverse some of the effects.   Treating Diabetes There is hope for the treatment and management of diabetes – diabetes is a controllable disease. New treatments are being developed all the time and it’s helping suffers to have a better quality of life for longer. Below we list some of the most commonly prescribed Diabetes treatments. Using these medications alongside aggressive changes in lifestyle and diet can make Diabetes easier to live with and can greatly reduce the risk of associated fatality. Treating type 2 diabetes has come a long way in the last fifteen years. There are numerous drugs that have been approved in the last few years. New treatments for diabetes include:   DPP-4 Inhibitors Drug names: Januvia, Onglyza and Tradjenta. What they do: These Diabetes meds lower blood sugar by preventing the breakdown of GLP-1   GLP analogs Drug names:  Byetta, Victoza and Bydureon What they do: These Diabetes meds use the body’s own signal system to boost Insulin after meals   SGLT2 inhibitors Drug names: Invokana and Jardiance What they do: These Diabetes meds work by blocking glucose re-absorption by the kidneys thereby causing you to urinate glucose and lower blood glucose. Combination medications are also available. These combine two classes of the above medications to get a more effective result in unresponsive patients. Many Diabetes patients also use insulin injections to help control the disease. Insulin injections help to replace inadequate insulin production. There are new insulins that are once daily rather than short acting injections that have to be injected 2-3 times a day. There is also an insulin Nasal spray recently approved called Afrezza. It’s hoped that the introduction of this nasal spray should dramatically improve compliance in taking insulin and help to maintain better glucose control in Type 1 diabetes patients. If you have any questions on Diabetes control or Diabetes then let us know. As always, we’re here t answer any questions and help where we can.