Dubai Diabetes

I was extremely privileged to attend the META (middle-east Turkey Africa) collaborative diabetes conference in Dubai at the weekend. Wow!

I was treated like an absolute princess, divine food! International speakers were out of this world and I thank Boeringher-Ingelheim for a superbly organised time in this wonderful place. I am a big fan of Dubai! (now).

I met 2 new friends and such a rare sparkling gem to have spent this time together. Thank you!

The talks focused on a new class of diabetes drug not yet available in south africa (maybe next year) for type 2 diabetes – SGLT sodium glucose transport inhibitor drug which causes you to pee out the glucose (sugar). This new drug not only has great sugar control BUT prevents heart attacks as well as has a positive effect on kidney disease.

There has been so! much research in the last few years and it is really so exciting to be a part of being able to treat diabetes more efficiently effectively and with fewer

side-effects.

Diabetes and drama

What will it take to get people to sit up and listen and apply very simple steps to their lives to prevent type 2. What will it take to get governments to realise that uncontrolled diabetes is financially crippling as well as a complete disaster.

These things are preventable and treatable BEFORE we get to economic crumble – which is seemingly inevitable at the current pace. Not too sure if the politicians realise the implications, however far and wide it seems the people who choose politics don’t always have the general public’s best interest at heart.

Type 2 diabetes is essentially a lifestyle induced disease and yet uncontrolled the repercussions are : amputations, blindness, heart disease and kidney failure (dialysis). The  cost implications of these aforementioned are HUGE as well as the loss of able body and minded people in the system of generating income.

Type 1 diabetes has exactly the same repercussions if not controlled and right from the get go is more expensive to manage properly. And yet with better management you ensure a healthy body that if targets are met will generally outlive the general public.

In south africa especially in the state sector both type 1 and 2 are poorly managed to say the very least and this knocks on to a growing population of patients requiring expensive treatments – that they inevitably get. It would make so much more sense to be preventative in terms of spending the money more wisely.

You don’t have to be a mathematician to understand what a log curve is. This is the current trajectory that we are on. With no sign of a slight dip of any relenting any time soon.

And yet – with simple interventions – like sugar tax and awareness we could really make a HUGE impact. Why ? Why are we not doing it? Is it because we do not WANT to??

It just boggles my mind.