Staggering Fact about Diabetes

Overall, 33% of boys and 39% of girls born in 2000 will develop diabetes.
When it comes to Hispanic children, 45% of males and 53% of females will develop diabetes.
Black boys and girls stand a 40% and 45% risk of developing diabetes in their lifetimes, respectively, while for white boys and girls, the comparable figures are 27% and 31%.
A man diagnosed with diabetes at age 40 will die 12 years sooner than he would have had he not developed the disease, while a woman diagnosed at that age will have 14 years shaved off her lifespan.
The average risk of a 70-year-old American developing diabetes is one in 10, about the same as his or her risk of developing dementia.
The average age at diagnosis ranged from a low of 56 years for blacks to a high of 59 years for whites.

Not only does [Topamax] appear to help relieve symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, but there is at least a suggestion that the nerve repairs itself. If that happened, it would be pretty unique." But, he cautions, it is much too early to draw any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of [Topamax] in treating prediabetes. "It's not uncommon that when people come into a clinical trial, things get better," says Barrett, who is also professor of internal medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "We have to wait to see if changes in blood pressure and lipids are sustained in larger numbers of people." Fran Kaufman, MD, outgoing president of the American Diabetes Association, is a bit more encouraged. "We knew already that some antiepileptic drugs have some modulating effects on peripheral neuropathy. What is so exciting about [Topamax] is that it may also have an appetite-modulating effect and play multiple roles for people with diabetes," says Kaufman, head of the Center for Diabetes at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.