Banatric surgery, long acting Glucagon-Like Peptide (GLP) analogues, insulin analogues and safe anti-obesity drugs are the future of diabetes care, according to Dr Arun Vadavi, National Secretary, Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust, International (IDDTI).

The key objective of the IDDTI is to provide insulin to economically weaker sections of society across the globe. The growing obesity and poor control of diabetes will see an increase in weight loss surgery and prescription of GLP and insulin analogues.

“India accounts for a 50 million diabetic population. Type 2 diabetic patients constitute 95 per cent. These patients come under three categories: Obese children of well to do families, middle class people in the late thirties who have family history and unhealthy lifestyle and people in early sixties due to age-related factors. Diabetes is rising amongst rural people as well, primarily because urbanisation is taking place in rural sector also”, he added.

“Of the 51 million patients suffering from diabetes, about 5 per cent are insulin dependent and 15 per cent are insulin requiring in my estimate. Going by the morbidity of the disorder, the two challenges before the diabetologists are prevention of new cases and the first to prevent onset of new diabetic cases and second is to avert the complications in the existing cases”, he said.

Dr Vadavi has also been an invited member of the consultative group of Association of Physicians of India (API) for the formation of National Consensus Guideline for the Management of Diabetes. The API consultative committee issues guidelines periodically for diabetic management in insulin prescription and oral drugs based on new studies. Its action plan is also to educate the medical professionals on diabetes control and complications.

Some of the latest oral therapies to treat diabetes are Gliplins and Bromocriptin which is now approved for blood glucose control. India has a large population of diabetics and this makes it an important country to carry clinical trial for new drugs.

In an era of home diagnostic kits like gluco-metres, the testing for the disorder has been simplified. “Glucometer helps in diagnosis of diabetes of many people in India. For instance, a common practice is at family gathering where the apparently healthy people check their blood glucose out of curiosity and are recognised to be diabetic,” he pointed out.