Nevertheless, the good news as shared by Prof Dato Rahman Jamal is, precision medicine could take place whereby big data is harnessed from the diabetes patients and healthcare is delivered to a patient based on the person’s unique genetic make-up, environment factors, and lifestyle habits. This SeDia cohort study will be able to gather vital information from the diabetes patients and their family members which will help tremendously in the design of personalised diabetes approach. By doing so, the individuals will be placed into appropriate treatment groups based on the collected data. Having this personalised approach systematically done will certainly help in reducing the costs of treating and managing diabetes in this country.
Some people with type 2 diabetes can become non-diabetic again, at least for a period. That is called a remission of diabetes. A remission of diabetes will allow the patient to stop taking anti-diabetic drugs. Another good news shared by Prof Michael Lean is that remission of diabetes is possible. This has been conducted under testing by the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), a non-surgical Counterweight-Plus programme. DiRECT is funded by the Diabetes UK and being run in Primary Care where obesity and type 2 diabetes are routinely managed via total meal replacement.
The study suggests that weight loss of more than 15 kg in the patients should be sufficient to reverse type 2 diabetes by removing ectopic fat in liver and pancreas, restoring first-phase insulin secretion, and returning of pancreas to the normal morphology. Besides, other features of metabolic syndrome have also reportedly improved. This study truly offers a glimpse of hope to the type 2 diabetes patients by being a viable treatment to achieve diabetes remission.
Datuk Dr Zanariah deliberated on the different yet interrelated roles played by each of the members in a diabetes multidisciplinary team (MDT). Diabetes involves a complex interplay of multiple factors. Thus, it is crucial to form a diabetes MDT consisting of physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners or diabetes nurse educators, ophthalmologists, podiatrists, mental health professionals, dietitians, and endocrinologists in order to achieve optimum management and treatment of the disease. Indeed, each of the allied health professionals has their own vital role to play.