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Twofold Action Urged for Pre-Diabetes
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Many people question whether pre-diabetes is actually disease, Lebovitz said. "The important message is that pre-diabetes is not something people don't have problems with," Lebovitz said. "Sure, they don't have any problems when they're 30, but when they're 50, they've had their heart attack and now they have an ulcer on the foot."
In addition to lifestyle changes, the AACE thinks that pre-diabetes needs to be treated more aggressively.
Since there are no drug therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating pre-diabetes, the AACE suggests another way to get them: Reduce the number at which blood sugar levels define diabetes. That would make current medications available to people who are now classified as pre-diabetic.
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In addition, those who cannot modify their cardiovascular risk by lifestyle changes need to be treated for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and should have medications to control blood sugar levels.
"The data show that there is a spectrum of severity, with the most severely affected approaching the risks of people with diagnosed type 2 diabetes," Dr. Daniel Einhorn, vice president of the AACE, said in a statement. "In these highest-risk individuals, who represent a minority, pharmacologic strategies may be appropriate if intensive lifestyle therapies fail. Regardless, all individuals at risk for diabetes should be aware of the level of their risk factors and be prepared to take action."
More information
For more information on diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
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Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 7/23/2008
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SOURCES: July 23, 2008, teleconference with Harold Lebovitz, M.D., professor, medicine, division of endocrinology and metabolism/diabetes, State University of New York Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn, New York City; Daniel Einhorn, M.D., vice president, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and medical director, Scripps Whittier Institute for Diabetes, La Jolla, Calif.
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