Diabetes: Some beat it, but are they cured?

By JAMIE STENGLE

JoAnne Zoller Wagner’s diagnosis as prediabetic wasn’t enough to compel her to change her habits and lose 30 pounds. Not even with the knowledge her sister had died because of diabetes.

“I didn’t have that sense of urgency,” said the Pasadena, Md., woman.

But nine months later, doctors told Wagner her condition had worsened. She, too, now had Type 2 diabetes.

That scared her into action.

Now, two years later, the 55-year-old woman has slimmed down. She exercises regularly and her blood- sugar levels are back in the healthy, normal range. Thanks to her success, she was able to avoid diabetes medication.

Diabetics such as Wagner who manage to turn things around, getting their blood sugar under control — either escaping the need for drugs or improving enough to quit taking them — are drawing keen interest from the medical community.

This summer an American Diabetes Association task force will focus on this group of patients and whether they can be considered “cured.” Among the points of interest:

UWhat blood sugar range qualifies as a cure and how long would it have to be maintained?

UHow might blood pressure and cholesterol, both linked to diabetes, figure into the equation?

UAnd what if a “cured” diabetic’s blood sugar soars again?

“For right now, we’re not saying they’re cured, but the bottom line is ... good glucose control, less infections,” said Sue McLaughlin, president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association.

Being overweight is the leading risk for Type 2 diabetes. Genetics also plays a role, and blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are at greater risk than whites.

Nearly 57 million Americans are prediabetic. Another 18 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, while the diabetes association estimates almost 6 million more Americans have diabetes and don’t know it. About 90 percent to 95 percent of diabetics have Type 2, the kind linked to obesity.

The future is potentially even gloomier, with one study estimating that one of every three children born in the U.S. in 2000 will eventually develop diabetes.

But the news isn’t all bad. Thirty minutes of daily exercise and a 5 percent to 10 percent loss in body weight can lower the odds of diabetes by nearly 60 percent and is more effective than medicine in delaying its onset, according to a diabetes prevention study.

Still, such lifestyle changes are often difficult.

Alice Stern describes a similar journey back to health since her diabetes diagnosis in 2007. The 50-year-old Boston woman was able to avoid diabetes drugs through diet and exercise, managing to trim 40 pounds off her 5-foot-2 frame.

“It is about willpower. That’s how you make the changes,” said Stern.

Even diabetics who have resorted to weight loss surgery have seen their blood sugar levels return to normal.

Whatever the route, weight loss is key, doctors say.