| Diabetes: Backgrounder |
Novo Nordisk plays a leading role in the development of new compounds that can be used to reduce glucose production.
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What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does not
produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the
insulin it produces. There are two basic forms of diabetes: type 1 and
type 2. People with type 1 diabetes produce very little or no insulin.1
People with type 2 diabetes cannot use insulin effectively.
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| Symptoms |
The symptoms of type 1 diabetes may occur suddenly and include:
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Excessive thirst
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Constant hunger
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Excessive urination
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Weight loss for no reason
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Rapid, hard breathing
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Vision changes
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Drowsiness or exhaustion
People with type 2 diabetes may have similar but less obvious symptoms - many in fact have no symptoms and are only diagnosed after many years of onset.
As a consequence, almost half of all people with type 2 diabetes are not aware that they have this life-threatening condition.
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| Risk Factors |
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Diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility and external environmental risk factors. Some of these include:
- Family history of diabetes.
- Low activity level and poor diet.
- Excess body weight (especially around the waist).
- Age greater than 45 years.
- High blood pressure and high blood levels of triglycerides.
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Diabetes – The Growing Epidemic
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Today, an estimated 230 million people, almost 6 percent of the world’s adult
population has diabetes. This number is expected to grow to 380 million by 2025, making diabetes one of the greatest medical challenges of the 21st century. This is largely due to the aging population, trends in urbanisation, increase in cases of obesity and poor physical health.
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| Diabetes Management |
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People with type 1 diabetes require daily injections of insulin to survive.
Those with type 2 diabetes can sometimes for a period of time manage their condition with lifestyle and diet measures, often in combination with oral anti-diabetic drugs, but when glycaemic targets are no longer reached, insulin therapy will become the preferred treatment option.
Good glycaemic control is vital in patients with diabetes but the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that two thirds of people with the condition do not achieve their target HbA1c4, the measure for the long-term blood glucose control (ADA target: <7.0%, IDF target: ≤6.5%).
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Novo Nordisk is the only diabetes care company to offer healthcare providers and people with diabetes a full range of modern insulin products:
- Fast-acting insulin controls the ‘spike’ in blood sugar following a meal.
- Long-acting insulin covers the body’s constant basal insulin need.
- Dual-acting biphasic insulin covers both basal and meal-related insulin.
- requirements.
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