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Diseases & Conditions
What’s new in diabetes drugs
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
Two classes of drugs have gotten much attention lately.
Watch TV lately, and you may have noticed a slew of advertisements for two classes of diabetes drugs — GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors. Why are these medications being marketed so heavily? Sure, these new drugs add significant revenue to pharmaceutical companies. But they also offer health benefits beyond just keeping blood sugar levels controlled.
Growing problem
Type 2 diabetes (by far the most common type) remains a serious health risk for many Americans, especially older adults. About 34.2 million adults have type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC. Based on current trends, the CDC predicts that one in five American adults will have diabetes by 2025, and the number could reach one in three by 2050.
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Living Well with Diabetes
Living Well with Diabetes helps you better understand and manage your diabetes. It includes detailed, updated information about medications and alternative treatments for diabetes, and a special section on weight-loss strategies. You’ll also learn the basics of how your body metabolizes sugar, how and when to monitor your blood sugar, and how to cope with both short- and long-term complications of the disease. Most importantly, you’ll see that it’s not just possible to live with diabetes — it’s possible to live well.
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- Recognizing the symptoms
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