Late Breaking News Researchers Re-Defining the Concept of a Cure
for Diabetes BETHESDA, MD—Much of the discussion surrounding
diabetes concerns day-to-day treatment and how a patient can
manage symptoms and keep the disease from progressing. Rarely
does anyone discuss the possibility of a cure. Speaking on the
campus of the National Institutes of Health here last month, Dr
Christopher Saudek did just that. A researcher at Johns Hopkins
University and director of the Comprehensive Diabetes Center, Dr
Saudek outlined the different approaches that researchers are
taking in the search for a cure. He also pointed out that the
definition of a cure is not a fixed point. “There are various
ways to conceptualize a cure,” Dr Saudek noted. “One is a simple
procedure, device, or drug that eliminates diabetes permanently.
One is a periodically repeated procedure, device, or drug that
eliminates diabetes. or a procedure, device, or drug that has
risk and morbidity but also eliminates diabetes.” These devices
and drugs coul