More aggressive treatment of pre-diabetes called for

A new study from the United States has suggested that both an early and an aggressive approach to treating people with pre-diabetes would be most effective in reducing the increasing number of cases of type 2 diabetes around the world.
The research, which was reported in in the Lancet, claimed that such a strategy for those people who suffer from pre-diabetes, where there blood sugar levels are higher than usual and which can then lead on to full diabetes, could reduce the number of patients developing type 2 diabetes by half.
The study monitored nearly 2,000 people that had pre-diabetes and who were receiving different treatments, such as medication or changes to their lifestyle – including diet and levels of exercise. It found that those who were able to lower their blood sugar levels to normal, even if only for a short time, were at 56 per cent less risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the six-year course of the study.
Leigh Perreault, from the University of Colorado, who lead the research, commented “This analysis draws attention to the significant long-term reduction in diabetes risk when someone with pre-diabetes returns to normal glucose regulatio, supporting a shift in the standard of care to early and aggressive glucose-lowering treatment in patients at highest risk.”