Contents

• INTRODUCTION
  
• SUGAR, FAT, ENERGY AND INSULIN
  
• DIABETES - SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
  • What causes diabetes?
  • Who gets diabetes?
  • What are the signs diabetes?
  • What precedes diabetes?
  • Why is a high blood sugar level harmful?
  • Is diabetes a serious condition?
  • Does diabetes follow the same course in all people?
  • Can diabetes be cured?
  • Is diabetes inherited?
  • Can you catch diabetes from someone else?
  • Why is obesity linked with diabetes?
  • Is it necessary to eat special diabetic foods?
  • What medicines are used to treat diabetes?
  • What are the possible long-term complications of diabetes?
  • Are there medicines to prevent and treat the complications of diabetes?
  • What is hypoglycaemia and what are its telltale signs?
  • Is a hypo dangerous?
  • How does diabetes affect daily life, and what kind of support is available?
  
• DIAGNOSIS AND MONITORING
  • Diagnoses of diabetes
  • The oral glucose tolerance test
  • Monitoring and self-management
  
• DIABETES AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
  •A short history of insulin
  •Clinical use of insulins
  •New approaches to insulin therapy
  •Non-insulin medicines under development for type 1 diabetes
  •Non-insulin medicines for type 2 diabetes
  •New developments in treatments for type 2 diabetes
  •Complications of diabetes, their prevention and treatment
• CONCLUSIONS
• SUMMARY TABLE
• SOME USEFUL ADDRESSES

Acknowledgements

The ABPI wishes to thanks the companies who provided help and the information necessary in the preparation of this booklet, and also Diabetes UK for their interest, support and comments. We are grateful to A Menarini Diagnostics and to Professor John Pickup and Dr Clifford Bailey for their additional help. We are also indebted to the Science Photo Library and Blackwell Publishing for permission to use images which are gratefully
acknowledged.