Researchers continue to search for the cause or causes of diabetes and for ways to prevent and cure the disorder. For example, scientists are looking for genes that may be involved in type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Some genetic markers and other indicators for type 1 diabetes have been identified, so it is now possible to check relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to see if they are at risk. Scientists are also researching ways to prevent or delay many of the complications associated with diabetes.
Many drugs are now available to treat type 2 diabetes. These include, for example, drugs that help the pancreas produce more insulin, make tissues more sensitive to insulin, or improve the liver's response to insulin.
By using the oral diabetes medications now available, many people with type 2 diabetes can control blood glucose levels without insulin injections. Studies are underway to determine how best to use these drugs to manage type 2 diabetes.
Much of diabetes research is conducted through clinical trials, which are research studies conducted with human volunteers to find out if a new experimental drug, therapy, medical device, lifestyle change, or test will help treat, find, or prevent a disease. New therapies are tested on people only after laboratory and animals studies have shown promising results.
The findings of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease or NIDDK, showed the importance of tight control of blood glucose in slowing or preventing complications of diabetes such as eye, kidney, and nerve damage.
In 1996, the NIDDK launched its Diabetes prevention program, or Dpp. The goal of this research effort was to learn if type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed in people at high risk for the disease.
The findings of the Dpp, which were released in August 2001, showed that people at high risk for type 2 diabetes could sharply lower their chances of developing the disease through modest weight loss (achieved by a low calorie, low-fat diet) and regular physical activity. Treatment with the oral drug metformin also reduced diabetes risk, though less dramatically.
Currently, the National Institutes of Health is conducting three clinical trials -- Look AHEAD, ACCORD, and BARI 2D -- to find the best strategies to prevent and treat heart disease, the leading complication of diabetes. These studies are all joint efforts of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
- The Look AHEAD: Action for Health in Diabetes study is the largest
clinical trial to date to examine the long-term health effects of voluntary
weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes. This clinical trial will
examine how lifestyle changes designed to achieve and maintain weight loss
over the long term through healthy eating and increased physical activity
affect people with diabetes and their risk for heart disease.
- The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes, or ACCORD
study, is looking at three key approaches to preventing heart disease and
strokes in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
- The Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in Type 2 Diabetics Trial, or BARI 2D, a 5-year clinical trial, will compare medical versus early surgical management of patients with type 2 diabetes who also have various forms of heart disease. The BARI 2D trial is also studying how different strategies used to control blood glucose affect a patient's risk of developing heart disease.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National library of Medicine
and other Institutes, maintains a database of clinical trials at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Here you will find information about a trial's purpose, who may participate,
locations, and phone numbers for more details. Click here to see a list of the
current clinical trials on diabetes. A separate window will open.
Click the "x" in the upper right hand corner of the "Clinical
Trials" window to return here.
NIH SeniorHealth
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Last updated: March 2008
