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Diabetes Treatment Should Be More Flexible
This press release is an announcement submitted by , and was not written by Diabetes Health.
Older Diabetes Adults
Diabetes treatment standards for frail older adults should be more flexible than those for younger adults, focusing more on day-to-day quality of life and less on long-term results, according to a geriatrician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
In a commentary in the April 6, 2011, issue of Journal of the American Medical Association, Sei J. Lee, MD, said treatment plans for frail elders should be based on degree of frailty, life expectancy, and the health outcomes that are most important for each patient.
The long-term goal of diabetes treatment for younger patients is the avoidance of vascular complications, including heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, brought about by chronically high blood glucose. High blood glucose levels damage circulation in small blood vessels. To accomplish this, patients are trained to monitor their blood glucose frequently during the day and keep their level relatively low through diet, medications, and insulin injections-a regimen known as tight control.
"Although tight control makes sense for most patients, for frail older patients it may come at too high a price, namely hypoglycemia-dangerously low blood sugar-and even hypoglycemic coma," said Lee. "We should keep in mind that the long-term vascular benefits of tight control are usually not seen in patients for approximately eight years. Since frail older patients face other, more immediate risks to their mortality and are unlikely to survive this long, they are exposed to all of the risks with none of the advantages."
Lee, who is also an assistant adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said that for frail elders, other goals should take precedence, such as decreasing the immediate risks of incontinence, deteriorating cognition, or symptomatic hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). "Since these outcomes can be avoided with less aggressive treatment, these are what we should focus on, with the goal of increasing each elder's quality of life," he said. "More research is needed to determine the correct, evidence-based standards for glycemic control among these patients," said Lee.
Categories: Diabetes, Diabetes, High Blood Sugar, Hyperglycemia, Hypoglycemia, Low Blood Sugar, Vascular Complications
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Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
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Topics
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- Type 2 Diabetes
- Blood Glucose / Sugar
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- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
Comments
The reality is? As we get older things become Harder and more Complicated to do.. Our memory lapses and we forget alot more often.
Treating our T1-Insulin Diabetes has become Far too Complicated
Btwn all the different things we have to do, Plus the In accurate Test meters/CGM's, Slow acting Insulins ( yes Slow-taking 3 hrs to get a BG down) to the Lack of Poor Help and Guidence by the Medical Profession..
But, we Are a Minoirty..only about 2 million of us in the USA..and I think this is the #1 reason why..
They can make More $ treating Cancer and Other Major Diseases than they can Us..
One website says that eating foods rich in beta glucan (oats, barley), also taking 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon morning and evening will help. I have been experimenting for a few weeks now; it takes a while for body to repair itself. Also, I fast 24 h per week. I am pre diabetic but determine to reverse it.
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