Global Coalition of Diabetes Experts Calls for Uncompromising Management of Diabetes to Help Prevent Devastating and Costly Global Burden

Global Coalition of Diabetes Experts Calls for Uncompromising Management of Diabetes to Help Prevent Devastating and Costly Global Burden

September 15, 2006

    - Global Call to Action Developed by Diabetes Experts
From Europe, 
      Latin America, Asia, U.S., Canada and Australia

    - Diabetes Expert:

    - We Must Improve the Management of Diabetes

    - We Must Increase Acceptance of Insulin by
Communicating its 
      Use as a Viable Optimal Treatment

    - We Must Reduce the Ever-increasing Burden of this
Disease


    COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
EASD -- A Consensus Report launched today is calling for
urgent action to drastically improve the management of
diabetes.  The Consensus Report is a global call to action
that has been produced following a meeting of 25 respected
diabetes experts from 16 different countries.

    Diabetes is a growing global epidemic which has a
significant impact on health budgets and threatens to
reduce life expectancy.  The coalition was formed to look
at ways to address this worrying global burden after
learning about the results of a major international survey
"Optimizing Control in Diabetes (OPTIMIZE)
Survey" in which almost 1,500 people with type 2
diabetes from seven countries were questioned about their
attitudes to diabetes management, which concluded there
were significant patient barriers to achieving optimal
blood sugar control.

    "Diabetes is a progressive disease and almost all
patients with type 2 diabetes who are currently controlling
their condition through diet, exercise and oral therapy will
ultimately require insulin, the gold standard treatment for
the successful management of diabetes.  However, a
treatment is only successful if patients are willing to use
it.  Recent clinical research shows that half of patients
for whom oral diabetes medicines are not sufficient for
them to reach blood sugar targets are delaying for at least
four to six years before commencing insulin treatment.  Even
patients who are suffering from the complications of
uncontrolled diabetes, such as neuropathy and retinopathy,
which can lead to blindness, are still delaying insulin
treatment," commented Professor Cefalu, Pennington
Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

    The OPTIMIZE Survey, which looked at patient attitudes
to diabetes management, reinforced this data and revealed
serious issues surrounding the acceptance of insulin that
need addressing.

    Professor Cefalu continued, "This has prompted my
colleagues and I to form a coalition from which we have
developed a consensus report, which we hope will heighten
the awareness of the problem and prompt patients and
healthcare professionals to adhere to guidelines for
earlier intervention as required."

    Call to action

    The OPTIMIZE Consensus Report discusses key actions to
help overcome the barriers to optimal blood sugar control
which include:

    Creating a receptive environment

     -- Public awareness and patient empowerment must be
improved

     -- Healthcare professionals must receive better
education about insulin 
        and the barriers to treatment so they can
communicate the importance 
        of optimal blood sugar control to patients

     -- Healthcare policy makers must understand the trust
costs of diabetes.

    Communicating the importance of getting to goal

     -- Help improve patient understanding that insulin
treatment may 
        eventually be needed due to the nature of diabetes
and should be 
        discussed as early as possible

     -- Insulin should be initiated appropriately and
without delay

     -- Patient preference is important in all treatment
decisions to 
        encourage accurate self-management.

    Potential Role of New Non-Injectable Insulin Therapies

     -- Finding ways to increase patient acceptance of
insulin therapy may 
        help to reach blood sugar goals -- new treatment
options, such as 
        inhaled insulin could lead to more successful
outcomes for people with 
        diabetes.

    "Insulin is the most effective blood sugar
lowering treatment available but it is not being used
effectively. Sadly, people with type 2 diabetes have
learned to fear insulin rather than seeing it as an
effective treatment that can help them maintain optimal
blood sugar control.  This fear has been perpetuated by
some doctors who use insulin therapy as a threat to promote
compliance during the early stages of diabetes but in fact
insulin is the most effective and natural way of
controlling blood sugar.  The OPTIMIZE Consensus Report
highlights that reluctance to use or intensify insulin
treatment is often due to injection-related factors.  We
must dispel these fears and improve the management of
diabetes, which includes increasing acceptance of insulin
by communicating its use as a viable optimal treatment, if
we are to reduce the ever-increasing burden of this
disease," Commented Professor Mathieu, University of
Leuven, Belgium.

    Diabetes has reached unprecedented, epidemic levels --
there are approximately 230 million people with diabetes
worldwide and without further action this figure is
predicted to rise to 350 million by 2025(1).  Landmark
trials proved unequivocally that poor blood sugar
management leads to diabetes-related complications(2),(3)
such as blindness, amputations, kidney failure, heart
attack and nerve damage.  Diabetes is the fourth leading
cause of disease-related death world-wide.(1)  Treatment of
diabetes-related complications accounts for most of the cost
burden associated with diabetes -- estimated to be in the
region of $286 billion each year.(4)

    Professor Mathieu continued, "Patient
self-management is crucial to attaining a successful
treatment outcome.  If a patient is unhappy with their
treatment they are unlikely to administer it as accurately
as prescribed.  All insulin regimens should be adapted to
suit the needs of each patient and through offering the
appropriate range of treatment choices patient preference
can be taken into account and may help to encourage more
successful treatment outcomes."

    About the OPTIMIZE Survey

    The OPTIMIZE Survey was carried out by a leading global
research firm, Harris Interactive, on behalf of Pfizer.  The
survey was undertaken amongst 1,444 people with type 2
diabetes in July and August 2005, with approximately equal
representation from: U.S., UK, France, Germany, Spain,
Mexico, and Brazil.  The OPTIMIZE Survey results are
available on request.

    About the OPTIMIZE Coalition

    The OPTIMIZE Coalition consisted of 25 respected
diabetes experts from 16 different countries who met in
February 2005 to discuss the outcomes of the OPTIMIZE
Survey.  The meeting was sponsored by Pfizer.

    The Coalition Members are:
    
    Professor Maarten Kamp     Australia Dr. Elizabeth     
  Philippines
                                         Fernando

    Dr. Michael Walter Roden   Austria   Dr. Rima Tan      
  Philippines

    Professor Chantal Mathieu  Belgium   Professor
Wladyslaw  Poland
                                         Grzeszczak

    Dr. Freddy Goldberg        Brazil    Professor Jacek   
  Poland
    Eliaschewitz                         Sieradzki

    Dr. Jorge Gross            Brazil    Professor
Krzysztof  Poland
                                         Strojek

    Dr. Keith Bowering         Canada    Dr. Javier Ampudia
  Spain

    Dr. Lawerence Leiter       Canada    Dr. Pedro Luis de 
  Spain
                                         Pablos-Velasco

    Professor Bernard          France    Professor Peter
Diem Switzerland
    Charbonnel

    Professor Sotirios Raptis  Greece    Professor Nick    
  UK
                                         Freemantle

    Dr. Bipin Kumar Sethi      India     Professor Stephen 
  UK
                                         Gough

    Professor Geremia Bolli    Italy     Dr. William Cefalu
  USA
                                         (Chair)           
  

    Dr. Fernando Lavalle       Mexico    Dr. Jaime Davidson
  USA

    Dr. Sergio Zuniga-Gujardo  Mexico

    
    References

    (1) International Diabetes Federation.  
http://www.idf.org/home/index.cfm?unode=3B96906B-C026-2FD3-87B73F80BC22682A
. Last accessed 14 July, 2006.

    (2) UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group.
Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or
insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of
complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33).
Lancet. 1998 Sep 12;352(9131):837-53.

    (3) Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research
group. The effect of intensive diabetes treatment on the
development and progression of long-term complications in
insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus: The Diabetes Control
and Complications Trial. N Engl J Med 1993; 329:978-986.

    (4) International Diabetes Federation. Diabetes Atlas
2nd edition. 2003

    For more information, please contact:

     Lucie Harper 
     Weber Shandwick
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Pfizer