Why Do Some Diabetics Never Encounter Complications: Through research, professionals have been trying to figure out why some patients develop diabetic complications and why some do not.
Professionals believe that through a study known as PROLONG, (Protective Genes in Diabetes and Longevity) they might find the answer. From the Lund University Diabetes Centre, Valeriya Lyssenko and Peter Nilsson, who lead the PROLONG had this to say about the statistics of patients with and without diabetes, “”The majority of diabetics will over time develop severe or fatal complications, but 10-15 per cent never do. They are the ones we are interested in the PROLONG study.”
Typically, an individual suffering from diabetes will have some form of diabetic complications later in life. Sometimes, retinopathy (eye damage) is an complication, sometimes neuropathy (kidney disease)can be an complication; neuropathy (nerve damage) is also a complication that many diabetic suffer from. Other times, a diabetic patient might suffer from a stroke, heart attack or require an amputation, when an ulcer will not heal. It is not yet possible to treat blood vessels that become damaged through high glucose levels. Therefore, far too many people suffer from all of these complications that derive because of it. However, while many people go through their diabetic life with one complication after another, some diabetic patients never encounter a complication at all.
One of the diabetic complications that many diabetics encounter is cardiovascular disease. In fact, the risk of dying from said disease is two to three times higher in those who have diabetes than those who do not. This is all due to blood vessel damage, which in turn affects everything else, almost like a domino chain. According the statistics, 70 percent of individuals suffering from diabetes will have some sort of kidney damage that could result in kidney failure. Through retinopathy, many will suffer severe visual impairment and 2 percent of diabetic patients will eventually become blind. Peter Nilsson commented while talking about complications, “The blood vessels and other organs of the body become sugar coated and stiff. It is reminiscent of premature biological ageing.”
The PROLONG investigation looked at many theories and here are some things that were found.
In Sweden, there are 12,000 people who have been diagnosed with diabetes for at least 30 years, 1,600 have has diabetes for over 50 years. “About half of these diabetic veterans do not have major complications. Two thirds of those who have had diabetes for more than 50 years have escaped complications. Clearly they are different and we want to find out what it is that protects them,” stated Valeriya Lyssenko.
The PROLONG study is moving around investigating different parts of the world, it is not taken a pilot study in Skane for patients who have has diabetes for more than 30 years. In having diabetes for more than 30 years, the chance for complications increases. The patients will say in health care centres and hospitals where they will be compared with patients who have has diabetes for 15 years and who have severe complications. A 30-year gap has been chosen for the study because researchers believe that after a patient has had diabetes for 30 years and has not suffered any kind of complication, they are less likely to, down the road.
These patients will be asked about any diseases they have encountered, about their lifestyle, about family and relatives diseases. Blood samples and genetic tests will be analyzed and close relatives will also be able to take part in the PROLONG investigation.
Valeriya Lyssenko states, “If we can identify factors protecting these veterans from devastating complications, then it might be possible to develop drugs that can do the same thing. I have dreamt of performing a study like this for a long time,” adds Peter Nilsson.
