Alexandria, Virginia - Thanks to advances in diabetes treatment and true personal effort, many people who depend on insulin lead long, healthy lives with the disease something thought impossible not long ago. The December 2014 issue of Diabetes Forecast®, the Healthy Living Magazine of the American Diabetes Association, celebrates these triumphant stories, the science that made it possible and the organizations that give medals to those who have successfully managed diabetes for 10, 25, 50, 75 years or more.
Elizabeth Tarbox, 80, is one of those people. As a young child in 1938, she was rushed to a Boston hospital with signs of diabetic ketoacidosis. There her type 1 diabetesa condition characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by a total lack of insulin. Occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. Type 1 diabetes develops most often in young people but can appear in adults.X was diagnosed by Elliott Joslin, MD, who would eventually become known as a pioneer in diabetes study and treatment. So began Tarbox’s lifelong experience with insulina hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy. The beta cells of the pancreas make insulin. When the body cannot make enough insulin, it is taken by injection or through use of an insulin pump.X injections and blood glucosethe main sugar found in the blood and the body's main source of energy. Also called blood sugar.X control, which culminated in receiving the 75-year Lilly Diabetes Journey Award in June 2014.
Medals of Resilience explores the efforts of the Lilly Diabetes program, plus the similar Joslin 50-Year Medalist Study that bears Dr. Joslin’s name, to recognize people with long-duration type 1. The article also delves into how researchers have studied the medalists’ lifestyles and biology to glean what may have helped many in the group escape common diabetes-related complicationsharmful effects of diabetes such as damage to the eyes, heart, blood vessels, nervous system, teeth and gums, feet and skin, or kidneys. Studies show that keeping blood glucose, blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels close to normal can help prevent or delay these problems.X, such as blindness, kidney failurea chronic condition in which the body retains fluid and harmful wastes build up because the kidneys no longer work properly. A person with kidney failure needs dialysis or a kidney transplant. Also called end-stage renal (REE-nul) disease or ESRD.X and nerve disease.
The medalists are not only good role models for younger people facing the disease, but also a potential key to unlocking new therapies.Also in the December 2014 issue of Diabetes Forecast: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ focus on diabetes care.
Does diabetes play a role in hearing loss? An FBI special agent with diabetes wins her dream job. The basics of clinical research and how to participate. Healthful soup recipes plus tips for stirring up delicious concoctions at home.
Diabetes Forecast has been America’s leading diabetes magazine for more than 65 years, offering the latest news on diabetes research and treatment to provide information, inspiration and support to people with diabetes.
