commentary by Toby Smithson—
Diabetes is rightly described as an epidemic. New estimates put the number of cases in the U.S. at just shy of 26 million in 2011, and nearly 2 million new adult cases were diagnosed in 2010. A paper entitled Projection of Diabetes Burden Through 2050: Impact of changing demography and disease prevalence in the U.S. published in Diabetes Care in November, 2001 (only 10 years ago!!) forecast that the number of cases in the U.S. would reach 29 million by the year 2050. We are well ahead of schedule. The “updated” estimate for 2050 is up to one-third of all Americans; plus or minus 100 million cases. We’ll likely make that 29 million by sometime in 2012. The worldwide figures are just as alarming.
Not surprisingly, research into causes, treatment and an ultimate cure is happening everywhere. And, enlightening and promising results are common. You’ll find information about these projects posted on DiabetesEveryDay.com almost every week. With literally hundreds of millions of dollars each year going to support research into diabetes and related metabolic conditions it is impossible to not be hopeful. And who could say the affected aren’t entitled to hope, and not just those of us with diabetes but also parents and spouses and children and friends. As you might imagine, after more than 40 years of managing my own diabetes daily (hourly) I could get pretty enthusiastic about a potential cure.
So, don’t take this wrong……………………………
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