Overview
As we begin a new era of scientific discovery, we can anticipate major victories in understanding, treating, and preventing the diseases under the research mission of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans today: endocrine and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, digestive diseases such as hepatitis and inflammatory bowel disease, kidney and urologic diseases such as kidney failure and prostate enlargement, and blood diseases such as the anemias.
The research advances of the past 50 years have saved lives, improved quality of life, and laid the foundation for today's progress. Most often, these advances resulted not from dramatic breakthroughs but from the steady, incremental findings of persistent investigative study. That investment is now paying off in unprecedented scientific opportunities. |
Page last updated: March 20, 2008
