DATE: February 20, 2008

TO: Dr. Elizabeth Tebeaux

FROM: Joshua Varghese
SUBJECT: Proposal for Report on Diabetes Treatment

Project Summary

This proposed project has two main objectives:

:
 Collect and organize information about current methods for diabetes treatment and
prevention.
 Present information about newer drugs and experimental methods of treatment for
diabetes.

This information will be gathered and compiled from online medical databases in an effort to
present treatment information in an organized, effective manner.

Introduction

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar. Diabetes can lead to many
complications, several of which can lead to an earlier death. These complications include heart
disease, strokes, kidney disease, and blindness. The number of diabetics worldwide is increasing
steadily, and developing effective treatment for diabetics has become important recently.

This project aims to clearly present information about the kinds of treatment available for
diabetics. This report will cover three different topics.
1) A basic overview about diabetes. This includes discussion of the different types of
diabetes, the risk factors, and the possible complications.
2) Current methods of diabetes treatment and prevention.
3) New and experimental treatment options for diabetes.

Rationale

Diabetes has become more prevalent in both the United States and worldwide recently.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 20.8 million people, or 7% of the population of
the U.S., have been diagnosed with diabetes. Another 54 million people have developed pre-
diabetes. These numbers are only for the United States; the numbers worldwide are larger.
Diabetes has also been linked with obesity, and the growing number of obese people in the U.S.
may lead to more cases of diabetes.

Many of the complications from diabetes are life-threatening or severely restrict quality of life.
In particular, heart disease leads to the death of 2 out of every 3 people who have diabetes
(American Diabetes Association). Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United

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States; therefore, an accurate overview of diabetes treatment is necessary. Other possible
complications are just as serious, and information about treatment is just as relevant.

Personally, I became interested in this topic because I have several of the risk factors for
diabetes. My parents have often urged me to exercise to avoid developing of diabetes. Since I
have not often listened to their wise advice, I sometimes find myself thinking about this
condition and what I need to do to prevent its development. The basic information about
diabetes, such as what it is and the various types, is prevalent; however, information about the
drugs and methods used for treatment is harder to find. This report will focus on resolving this
issue.

Research Methods

This report requires knowledge of the basic information about diabetes. Some of the best
resources to gather this information from are the American Diabetes Association and the U.S.
National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus). These sources are specially designed to allow
consumers who are unfamiliar with the disease to learn more about it. These sources will be
used to provide the basic overview needed for the report. These sources also provide links to
articles that can be used for the discussion of treatments.

Other databases, such as MDConsult and EbscoHost, will also be used to access journal articles
regarding the various treatment methods. Journals and articles about consumer health will be
used more often than journals intended for health care professionals. These consumer health
articles provide an excellent source of information for current treatments and drugs as well as for
experimental treatments.

Lastly, I will consult with Ruby Varghese, a pharmacist at Memorial Hermann Hospital in
Houston, for information about drug usage for diabetes treatment. Mrs. Varghese has over 18
years of experience and is knowledgeable about many commonly prescribed drugs.

Research Plan

Task Estimated Time to Complete Estimated Deadline

Gathering of sources 2 weeks February 27, 2008
First draft of report 3 weeks March 18, 2008
First revisions 1 weeks March 26, 2008
Final revisions 3 days March 30, 2008
Report Submission 1 day Early April 2008

Tentative Outline for the Report

I. Report summary
II. Introduction
a. Why diabetes is important
b. Uses of the report

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 III. Overview
a. What is diabetes?
b. Complications of diabetes
c. Who is at risk
IV. Current methods of treatment
a. Prevention
b. Drugs used currently
V. New methods of treatment
a. New drugs
b. Transplants and related research
VI. Conclusion

Initial Bibliography

Bell, David S. H., and Kathleen L. Wyne. “Treatment of type 2 diabetes...” Postgraduate
Medicine 119.2 (2006): 15-20.

“Diabetes Information - American Diabetes Association.” 13 Feb 2008

<http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp>.

“Diabetes, New Treatments for: Patient Education.” MD Consult 2004. 13 Feb 2008
<http://www.mdconsult.com/das/patient/body/87833002-
2/672254520/10062/15360.html>.

“First Consult: Diabetes overview.” MD Consult 24 Aug 2007. 13 Feb 2008

<http://www.mdconsult.com/das/pdxmd/body/87833002-2/0?type=med&eid=9-u1.0-
_1_105_5072513>.

Goho, A. “A drug to stop diabetes' onset?..” Science News 165.16 (2004): 253.

“Intensive Diabetes Treatment and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes.”
New England Journal of Medicine 22 Dec 2005. 13 Feb 2008
<http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/353/25/2643>.

Joe A. Florence, and Bryan F. Yeager. “Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.” American
Academy of Family Physicians 15 May 1999. 13 Feb 2008
<http://www.aafp.org/afp/990515ap/2835.html>.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Intensive insulin therapy: Achieving tight blood sugar control.” Mayo Clinic
9 Feb 2008. 13 Feb 2008 <http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/intensive-insulin-
therapy/DA00088/METHOD=print>.

Mirza, Shirwan A. “Type 2 Diabetes: The End of Clinical Inertia...” Southern Medical Journal
100.8 (2007): 765-766.

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MS Eberhardt et al. “Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults with Diagnosed
Diabetes --- United States, 1988--1994 and 1999--2002.” Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 13 Feb 2008
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5345a2.htm>.

“Outlook on diabetes drug less than rosy.. (Cover story).” Harvard Heart Letter 17.12 (2007): 1-
2.

“Recent Advances in Diabetes Care...” Diabetes (0-929661-16-8) (2006): 57.

Seppa, Nathan. “Cell transplants make gains versus diabetes...” Science News 167.10 (2005):
157.

Seppa, Nathan. “Diabetes drug shows new potential..” Science News 172.23 (2007): 365.

Sklaroff, Sara, John Rennie, and Justin Ewers. “MANAGING Diabetes.. (Cover story).”
Scientific American Special Edition 17.4 (2007): 46-57.

“The World's First Successful Islet Cell Transplant From a Living Donor...” Diabetes (0-929661-
16-8) (2006): 49.