Vol. 7, Issue 6 (2018)

Author(s):
Raghav Sharma, Dr. Divya Juyal and Anoop Negi

Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most widespread and melancholic chronic diseases, affecting the health of millions of persons worldwide. In accordance with the current Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report, the prevalence of diabetes rose from approximately 340 million persons in 2007 to approximately 455million persons in 2017, an increase of 30.6%. During the same interval, the annual number of deaths from diabetes rose from 1.2 million to 1.7 million. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting from a defect in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Insulin deficiency in turn leads to chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Diabetes mellitus may be categorized into several types but the two major types are type 1 and type 2. Drugs are used primarily to save life and alleviate symptoms. Secondary aims are to prevent long-term diabetic complications and, by eliminating various risk factors, to increase longevity. Insulin replacement therapy is the mainstay for patients with type 1 DM while diet and lifestyle modifications are considered the cornerstone for the treatment and management of type 2 DM. Insulin is also important in type 2 DM when blood glucose levels cannot be controlled by diet, weight loss, exercise and oral medications. Oral hypoglycemic agents are also useful in the treatment of type 2 DM. Oral hypoglycemic agents include sulphonylureas, biguanides, alpha glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinide analogues, and thiazolidinediones. (Abdulfatai B. Olokoba et al 2012)