World Diabetes Day: Don’t let our guard down during the crisis!

Diabetes represents a risk factor for severe forms of Covid-19 and, moreover, the crisis has resulted in the removal of many patients from the health system. This caused interruptions in follow-up and delayed treatment.

However, this crisis will have been an opportunity to accelerate remote monitoring and teleconsulting for the diabetic patients who have benefited from it. During childbirth, diabetologists have gained more experience in this way of operating and have clearly understood its interest. We can therefore consider that it is democratized for the benefit of the greatest number of people.

Innovations for type 1 diabetes …

The diabetes remains a serious disease that continues to waste years of life. However, it is also a condition for which considerable progress has been made. Furthermore, few chronic diseases have benefited from so many innovations in terms of both therapeutic and monitoring solutions. Blood glucose monitoring tools have evolved significantly today continuous operation measuring systems for patients… This allows them to avoid injections but also to access a constant overview of their blood sugar level. This innovation has really allowed a leap forward in care. 400,000 diabetics are affected by this system, more than half of them already equipped ! In type 1 diabetes, professionals are making good progress on so-called closed-loop systems: the artificial pancreas. From now on, some patients may be equipped with a programmable insulin pump that will inject more or less insulin based on the results displayed and interpreted by this semi-automatic system. Together with other data, all the data collected by this process will allow for further progress tomorrow! But be careful, because if this development is evident, the mental burden for the patient, who must be resolutely involved in his treatment, should not be underestimated.

Blood glucose monitoring tools have greatly evolved with measurement systems now operating continuously for patients … This allows them to avoid injections but also to access a constant overview of their blood sugar level. This innovation has really allowed a leap forward in care. 400,000 diabetics are affected by this system, more than half of them already equipped!

… but also type 2

There are several types of diabetes. In Type 2 diabetesThere has also been a proliferation of therapeutic classes with now a range of drugs that benefit from different modes of action and can be combined. This possibility is very interesting in the context of an evolving disease such as type 2 diabetes. We have therefore seen the emergence in recent years of new classes of drugs : DPP4 inhibitors and GLP1 receptor agonists. And since last April it is possible to use a new class in France, that of SGLT2 inhibitors, which have very interesting properties for the management of glycaemia, but also specific benefits on heart failure and the progression of renal failure.