Diabetes, a metabolic disorder caused when the pancreas stops secreting insulin. is the nation’s fourth leading killer’ As diabetics age, they are at high risk for blindness, kidney disorders and nerve damage so severe it requires amputation of feet and hands. In the new study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health followed 1,441 people with Type I diabetes, the deadliest form of the disorder. Half of the patients got traditional treatment, half a more intensive regimen that involved regulating insulin levels with special pumps or frequent injections. The innovation was so successful that researchers announced their findings a year before the decade-long study was over. Diabetics who followed the strict regimen suffered 60 percent less nerve damage, half as many kidney problems and 76 percent less blindness. Doctors worry that low blood-sugar levels seem to increase the risk of hypoglycemia, a condition that can cause deadly comas. But combined with proper education, the new procedure could become the proverbial ounce of prevention for all diabetics.
