Diabetes cases on the rise: current diagnosis guidelines and research efforts for a cure.

Diabetes is a devastating disease that accounts for more than $132 billion in healthcare costs annually in the U.S., and these costs are predicted to rise as high as $192 billion by the year 2020 (see recent statistics from AHRQ on page 12). For many people with diabetes, the life expectancy is shorter than that of age-matched non-diabetics. This fate is due to both the microvascular and macrovascular complications resulting from prolonged hyperglycemia. Current ADA guidelines for diagnosis include measures of plasma glucose and Alc, a glycated form of hemoglobin that has been used for many years as a marker of average glycemia. To see how Alc affects the overall number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with diabetes as a result of the test's greater practicality will be interesting. Significant progress has been made in diabetes research through the use of stem-cell technology, molecular DNA methods, and discoveries of novel insulin-controlling systems in the body. Several federally funded diabetes-research centers across the United States are currently continuing these efforts and, ultimately, hope for a cure for diabetes and its complications.