Advances Being Made In Treatment Of Diabetes
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - November is Fight to End Diabetes Month and CBS4's Gloria Neal wanted to see how the fight's going. She found out by visiting one of the doctors at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
"We will someday have some more permanent cure or at least an artificial pancreas that can keep their blood sugars perfect without them having to do work to keep that it way," Dr. Georgeanna Klingensmith said.
Klingensmith is a pediatric endocrinologist at the Barbara Davis Center. She says things have changed a lot.
"You don't have to boil the syringes and sharpen them on a wet stone, so that's a huge change," Klingensmith said.
She says the syringes today are plastic and disposable, but it's not just syringes.
"We have excellent new insulins that are manufactured to work more quickly or to work for a longer period of time so they have to take fewer injections," Klingensmith said.
As a result those insulins produce better blood sugars. All in all we know a lot more than we use to when it comes to helping people manage diabetes.
"There are many, many wonderful people living with diabetes, excelling with diabetes in every walk of life," she said.
The Barbara Davis Center is world renowned for leading the fight against childhood diabetes.
"The center was established to have both basic research, clinical science research and patient care with patient care being the primary focus," she said. "But the other things designed to improve patient care.
Klingensmith says there is definitely hope in the fight to cure the chronic disease of diabetes.
"Yes, I think that the day will come when we don't have diabetes."
The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes provides diabetes care to about 4,000 children and adults with diabetes from the Rocky Mountain region. They also treat some international patients.
