| Abstract: |
This patient education handout (designed to be photocopied and distributed to patients by their physicians) reviews diabetes and the elderly. In diabetes, the body either does not make enough insulin or does not respond to the insulin it makes in the usual way. Complications of untreated diabetes include blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease, infections, heart disease, and strokes. Most elderly people with diabetes have type 2. Initially, type 2 diabetes may be controlled by changing diet and exercise habits. However, drug therapy, either pills or insulin, may eventually be needed. The handout reviews five different types of medications and their use in elderly patients: alpha glucosidase inhibitors (Precose and Glyset); sulfonylureas (e.g., Glucotrol, Micronase, Glynase, Diabeta); other insulin secretatagogues (Prandin and Starlix); glucophage; and thiazolidinediones (Avandia, Actos). |