What is the likelihood of a cure for type 2 diabetes? What form will it take and when will it be available?
Answer:
The likelihood of a cure for type 2 diabetes arising from a single drug or therapy is quite small. Many factors are involved in the development of the disorder and it can almost be considered to arise from the body being under a generalized form of environmental and genetic stress�the stress being, in this case, the environmental stress of being overweight, lacking exercise, and other less well-recognized and understood factors. Most type 2 diabetes are predicated to some degree or another on being overweight (although this varies considerably from ethnic group to ethnic group) and therefore a medication or intervention that reverses or prevents obesity and overweight would be expected to have the additional benefit of preventing or curing type 2 diabetes. Indeed this has been conclusively shown to be true for bariatric surgery, which is a type of surgical operation that leads to weight reduction by either restricting the intake of food into the intestine, or leading to it being poorly absorbed from the intestine. Certain types of bariatric surgical procedures may lead to up to 90% reversal (we do not yet use the word cure here) of established type 2 diabetes and effective prevention of progression from prediabetes to frank diabetes. Surgical intervention of this kind is at present reserved for those at highest risk and is not feasible for everyone. There are some risks due to complications of the procedures themselves. Fortunately these are quite uncommon. There are also some subsequent side effects, such as a risk of inadequate balanced nutrition or vitamin deficiency with the bypass type of procedure as well as low blood sugar and diarrhea. However, this means of achieving effective weight loss can prevent or cure type 2 diabetes and a medication that leads to safe, durable, and effective weight reduction could achieve the same result. Possibly environmental adjustment on a social level to promote healthier lifestyles may achieve similar benefits for society as a whole, but this is notoriously difficult!
