SINGAPORE, November 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing problem of type 2 diabetes children is viewed with great concern by the international medical community gathered in Singapore for the 30th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Paediatric & Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD 2004).
The problem is particularly acute in the Asia-Pacific region. Professor Warren Lee, of the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, is an expert on diabetes in Asia. He commented “The emergence of type 2 diabetes in children means that no segment of the population has been left untouched.” He is convinced that this is not a problem that can wait “Urgent action on the part of everyone is needed for primary prevention, early detection and adequate treatment of diabetes mellitus in children”.
There is no doubt that type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents is a serious and growing problem. Urgent treatment is needed to prevent the development of the long-term complications of the disease, which include damage to the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels and the heart. These young patients need pharmacotherapy when treatment with diet and exercise is not sufficient.
Glucophage(R) (metformin), the foundation therapy for type 2 diabetes in adults, is now available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in children. Professor John Nolan, Consultant Endocrinologist at St James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, said: “Metformin (Glucophage(R)) addresses the insulin resistance at the core of paediatric diabetes, and this treatment is now licensed for use after lifestyle intervention in children in both the European Union and the USA. The availability of Glucophage(R) for use in type 2 diabetic children greatly enhances our ability to manage this challenging patient population”.
Glucophage(R) has been used in the treatment of adult type 2 diabetes in Europe for more than four decades, and is the only agent with protection from life-threatening diabetic complications included in its prescribing information. Guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes increasingly support the use of metformin as the first drug therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Glucophage(R) is now available for clinical use in children and adolescent patients with type 2 diabetes in both the USA and in Europe. The indication follows the completion of a randomised, double-blind clinical trial in children with type 2 diabetes, which showed Glucophage(R) to be effective, safe and well tolerated in this population. Indeed, the clear effectiveness of Glucophage(R) led to the trial being completed ahead of schedule, so that the children who were given placebo could benefit from Glucophage(R) treatment.
In the USA, Glucophage(R) is indicated for use as a single oral treatment (monotherapy) in being patients with type 2 diabetes, and as a component of a combination treatment regimen in older adolescents (17 years and above). In Europe, Glucophage(R) can be given as monotherapy or in combination with insulin in patients aged 10 years or above.
The new indication for Glucophage(R) is an important medical advance in the management of type 2 diabetes in these young patients.
Background information for Editors About type 2 diabetes
Normally, as blood sugar rises following a meal, the pancreas produces insulin. This causes the sugar to be stored away in muscle or fat for future use in energy production. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by two metabolic problems. First, a reduction in the effectiveness of insulin means that the pancreas has to produce ever-more insulin to control blood sugar (insulin resistance). Eventually, the pancreas cannot keep up, and blood sugar rises out of control (relative insulin deficiency). Sedentary lifestyles, energy-rich diets and obesity drive the progression of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in both adults and children.
A global epidemic of type 2 diabetes is under way. Today, more than 194 million people worldwide have diabetes, projected to rise to more than 333 million by 2025 (International Diabetes Federation). More than nine patients of every ten with diabetes have the type 2 form.
Type 2 diabetes in children
Until recently, type 2 diabetes was a disease of middle age, but is now being found ever-younger patients. Approximately 4/100,000 American children and adolescents aged 12-19 years now have type 2 diabetes, and the prevalence of the disease is increasing sharply, including in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, in Thailand, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increased from 5% during the period 1986-1995 to 18% during the period 1996-1999. The average age of these patients was only 11.6 years.
We are accustomed to seeing type 1 diabetes as the dominant form of the disease in childhood, but this is changing. Already, diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in children are now four times as common as diagnoses of type 1 diabetes in parts of Japan and China.
About Merck CardioMetabolic Care
Merck’s commitment to cardiometabolic care stretches back for more than four decades, since the introduction of Glucophage(R)(1) into clinical practice. Merck is the global market leader in oral diabetes medications. Most patients with type 2 diabetes in over 100 countries around the globe currently benefit from various products based on metformin.
(1) Glucophage is also marketed under the following brand names: Diabex, Dabex, Dianben, Glifage, Glisulin, Merckformin and Risidon
Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by 34,200 employees in 53 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from our entrepreneurial employees. Merck’s operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds a 74% interest and free shareholders own the remaining 26%. The former U.S. subsidiary, Merck & Co., has been completely independent of the Merck Group since 1917.
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CONTACT: For further details on Glucophage, please contact: HarryHowlett, FRCP, International Medical Adviser: tel+44-(0)1895-452-231 or Jean-Christophe Valluy , InternationalMarketing Manager: +33-4-72-78-28-21
