Patient Information

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by a reduced ability to produce insulin and/or by a dysregulated response to insulin and affects nearly 34 million people in the U.S. (Source: CDC). Diabetes is grouped into a few clinical categories based on etiology or timing of diagnosis according to the latest guidance from the American Diabetes Association. Accounting for 1.6 million diagnosed patients in the U.S., Type 1 diabetes is due to autoimmune beta-cell destruction, usually leading to absolute insulin deficiency, including latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood. Type 2 diabetes has been diagnosed in approximately 25.3 million people in the U.S. and is due to a progressive loss of adequate beta-cell insulin secretion frequently on the background of insulin resistance. The primary treatment goal is to achieve glycemic control by reducing HbA1c (A1c), a marker for the amount of sugar in the bloodstream, to 6.5% or lower. Glycemic control is a validated approach to delaying disease progression, which leads to significant and potentially fatal renal, cardiac, neurological, and ophthalmic comorbidities.