DIABETES AND THE FUTURE OF TREATMENT

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes has been increasing alarmingly, with a significant proportion of cases remaining undiagnosed. The pharmaceutical industry, research laboratories and technology have a key role in finding new solutions that optimize diabetes treatment and reduce complications, with improvement of quality of life. This review aims to briefly present the novelties and hopes in the pharmaceutical, biological and technological field. Regarding insulin therapy, intensive research is currently being made on “smart insulins”, with future repercussions, and biosimilar versions of insulin glargine are also being developed. In the future, nanotechnology could revolutionize the treatment of diabetes, for its application in drug therapy, with oral insulin, and application in monitoring blood glucose. For the treatment of type 2 diabetes, new molecules are being developed and existing drugs are being modified in order to increase the duration of action, improve drug combination and reduce known adverse effects. Moreover, new therapeutic approaches are being further developed, including adipose tissue transplant/regeneration strategies, reprogramming of different cell types, “digital pancreas” and the use of digital technologies to control glycaemia. Investment in research programs is important not only to find suitable means of prevention and cure, but also to develop better treatment strategies. It can be considered that the intervention in diabetes, concerted in various fields, has given important steps, but there is still a long way to go.

Keywords

• Diabetes mellitus
• drug therapy
• biological therapy
• technology
• innovation.