Unhealthy Heart

Cure or Remission?

This is a question on many people’s lips. What are the chances of treating diabetes and it goes away for good?

A cure implies a complete or permanent resolution. However using the concept of remission is more in keeping with our current knowledge. In time even though the diabetes seems to have disappeared for many years it still sometimes comes back. Any deterioration in our physical condition such as illness, ageing or weight gain is well known to be associated with a re-presentation of diabetes.

The lifestyle prevention trials in people with pre-diabetes have shown that diet, weight loss and exercise can prevent the onset of diabetes in the short-term, but these measures in many people only actually delays its presentation. Therefore, treatments put diabetes into remission rather than curing it.