Diabetes is the major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke. The number of people affected by all types of diabetic disorders is now over four times higher than just 40 years ago.
This has led the World Health Organization to consider diabetes an epidemic, predicting it will soon be the seventh biggest cause of death worldwide.
Despite its huge impact, there is still no cure for any type of diabetes. Most treatments help patients manage the symptoms to a certain extent, but diabetics still face multiple long-term health complications.
Diabetes affects the regulation of insulin, a hormone required for glucose uptake in cells, resulting in high levels of blood sugar. While there are some similarities in symptoms,
the two main types of diabetes develop in different ways. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing beta-pancreatic cells.
In contrast, patients with type 2 diabetes develop insulin resistance, meaning that it has less and less effect on reducing blood sugar. The biotech industry has seen this opportunity
and is striving to develop new diabetes treatments and chasing the holy grail: a cure. Let’s have a look at what’s brewing in the field and how it will change the way diabetes is treated.
