2019-03-01ReadersDigest_AUNZ

30 | March• 2019

MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES; ILLUSTRATIONS: HARRY CAMPBELL

BY LISA FIELDS

WHAT’S NEW

AND

WHAT’S NEXT

IT’S NO EXAGGERATION

tosaythatdiabetesisaninter-

national health emergency. It is

estimatedthat422millionpeople

arelivingwithdiabetesalloverthe

world.Type1diabetes,causedby

an immune system attack on the

pancreas, usually strikes younger

people and follows them through

their lives. Type 2 is more common

and is caused by resistance to the

hormoneinsulin,whichtellsthe

body to absorb blood sugar.

Worldw ide, some 350 million

people exhibit signs of prediabetes,

whichmeanstheyhaveaone-in-ten

chanceofdevelopingtype2diabetes

if not treated.

But here’s the good news: over

just the past few years, a remarkable

number of diabetes treatments, from

medications to surgical solutions

Diabetes