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laboratories have flourished. Several new vision researchers have been recruited, launched their own laboratories and gained their own independent funding. “Many exciting things have occurred because of this P30 grant,” Callegan said. “This funding has provided resources that our investigators otherwise would not have access to, and it has advanced research toward our ultimate goal, which is improving and restoring vision.” Research reported in this story is supported by the National Eye Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, under the award number 2P30EY021725-11.
findings are the culmination of a first-of-its-kind trial funded largely by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Within 15 years of a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, 60% of participants had at least one diabetes-related complication, and nearly a third of participants had two or more complications, according to results of the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) follow-up study, called TODAY2. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Until recent years, children almost never got Type 2 diabetes; it has primarily been a disease of adults. Because one-third of U.S. children are now overweight, more and more young people are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes,” said Jacob E. “Jed” Friedman, Ph.D., director of OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. “This study shows that severe complications can develop from that diagnosis while patients are still in young adulthood. We previously called Type 2 diabetes ‘adult-onset diabetes,’ but that definition no longer fits the disorder.” TODAY2 involved 500 original participants from the TODAY study, which began in 2004. TODAY was the first major comparative effectiveness trial for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes in youth. At the time of enrollment, participants were between the ages of 10-17, had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes for fewer than two years, and were overweight or had obesity. The average age of participants after the TODAY2 follow-up was 26 years. The study compared three treatments for managing blood glucose: metformin alone, metformin plus rosiglitazone, and metformin plus an intensive lifestyle intervention. Metformin is the only oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes in youth. Participants in TODAY2 were monitored annually for signs of diabetes complications, including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetic foot complications, and to report other health events. Diabetic eye disease was assessed once during the study, at the seven-year study visit. Overall, researchers saw a steady decline in blood glucose control over 15 years. In addition: • 67% of participants had high blood pressure • Nearly 52% had dyslipidemia, or high fat levels in the blood • Nearly 55% had kidney disease • 32% had evidence of nerve disease • 51% had eye disease.
Jeanie Tryggestad, M.D.
Study Shows Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Results in Serious Complications
Rates did not differ based on the original TODAY study treatment group assignment.
A clinical study at the OU Health Sciences Center has found that people with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed during youth — as young as 10 years old — have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years after diagnosis. The
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In addition, certain participants had a higher likelihood to develop multiple complications over time, with 28% developing two or more over the follow-up period. Participants who belonged to a minority racial or ethnic group, or who had high blood glucose, high blood pressure, and dyslipidemia were at higher risk for developing a complication.
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