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Diabetes

ARE you at risk of developing diabetes?

Experts estimate that there are around 1 million people in Britain who have the condition but don't know it. Without treatment they are at increased risk of developing heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and even nerve damage which may lead to amputations. Could it be you?

If you are over 40 and overweight and any of your family is diabetic then you have a high risk. People from African-Caribbean and Asian backgrounds are also at greater risk. Pregnant women can develop a temporary type of diabetes and having this, or giving birth to a large baby weighing in at 8.5 Ib or more can increase a woman's risk of going on to develop diabetes.

Help
If you are diagnosed as diabetic, don't despair. The worlds' greatest Olympian Steve Redgrave was told he had the condition three years ago and even though he has to inject insulin seven times a day it did not stop him going on to win another gold medal. If you think you are at risk, go and see your GP, who will organise proper testing. Or if you are worried, ring the Diabetes UK careline on 020 7636 6112 or visit their website at www.diabetes.org.uk

High-tech help for diabetics
A chunky looking wristwatch may soon spare diabetics the painful pinprick needed to draw a drop of blood to test their crucial glucose levels.

Developed in California and being trialled in the UK , the GlucoWatch measures blood sugars through the skin. It taps into interstitial fluid - the fluid that fills blisters when skin is damaged by burning Ð to give an accurate printout of the blood. Capable of taking measurements every 20 minutes readings are displayed on the watch like face and stored readings are available at the touch of a button.

For the first time it allows diabetics to see almost instantly how running up a flight of stairs or eating a biscuit affects their blood sugar levels.

It still involves obtaining a pinprick of blood to ''set'' the watch levels and may not be suitable for children, but it is being viewed as a significant breakthrough in controlling the volatile Type I diabetes.

It will be on sale in the States later this year priced at around $300 for the watch and $4 for the auto-sensor which needs replacing every 12 hours. Makers Cygnus have won approval to sell it in Europe but exactly when it will be available here is not yet clear.

Even further into the future are skin patches that can detect blood sugar levels and the use of infra red or lasers to give automatic read-outs. And another, more invasive, is a special needle, inserted just under the skin for up to three days at a time which can give out readings every few minutes. The draw back with the needle is the initial insertion and that at the moment anyway, the readings can only be taken by professionals.

Diabetics may in the future be able to inhale rather than inject their regular doses of insulin.

Work is well advanced on developing inhalers, similar to those used by asthmatics, to deliver the correct doses to keep blood sugar levels even.

Three different types are being developed, two using liquid insulin, the third, and furthest developed, using it in powder form.

Insulin powder is placed in the base of a 10 inch long container, turned into a cloud by compressed air which the patient can then breathe in slowly and deeply, pulling it deep into their lungs where it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.

Wide ranging trials on the device across Europe, including the UK, begin this year including both Type I and Type 2 diabetics. On the plus side is that the device requires no power source, but accurate dosing can be difficult and at present the device is large, about the size of a torch. There are also concerns about the long term effects of the very high levels of insulin needed to ensure enough reaches deep in the lungs to be absorbed and also what happens to any insulin not absorbed and left in the lungs.

CAN diabetes ever be cured?
Insulin producing islet cells, taken from a human pancreas, have been injected into patients in Canada with remarkable results. One year after receiving the cells all are producing their own insulin and no longer need to inject. But there are drawbacks.

Although carried out under general anaesthetic it is a transplant, each requiring two donor pancreases. The patients also has to take strong drugs to stop rejection.

So far it has only been done on adults with unstable Type I diabetes where the risks of complications from that outweigh the risks from the transplant.

But so exciting is the prospect of a ''cure'' that Diabetes UK is currently looking to fund more islet-cell research over here.

Symptoms!!
Symptoms in older people can be subtle: increased thirst, especially for sweet drinks; going to the loo more frequently, at any time but especially at night; weight loss; extreme tiredness; blurred vision.

You may have put symptoms such as these down to simply getting on a bit but each of them is a danger sign.

They should be checked out by your own doctor if they last for a month or longer.

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