New Delhi: As India achieves the dubious
distinction of becoming the diabetes capital of the world,
there might be relief in sight for a small number of diabetics
who could be completely freed of this ailment through a small
surgery on the pituitary gland.
According to doctors, there are a number of diabetics
whose erratic sugar reading is caused by a tumour in the
pituitary gland, housed just behind the nose.
The tumour in the gland can jeopardise the sugar control
function of the gland. These patients just need to undergo
endoscopy to get rid of the tumour and their diabetes could be
gone for ever, they said.
Dr Ashish Srivastava, senior neurosurgeon, BLK Memorial
Hospital, said there would be a small number of such diabetics
but if they are difficult to diagnose because general
physicians hardly think "out of the box".
Endoscopy is a minimal access surgery which is done with
the help of telescope.
In fact, hyperthyroidism and hypertension are also caused
by a type of tumour of pituitary gland and all these could be
a part of what is called the Cushing's Syndrome.
Srivastava said inclusion of this aspect in the treatment
protocol of diabetes is desirable. "Endoscopy of pituitary
gland is a settled minimal access surgery with high percentage
of success. Less trauma, less stay in the hospital, are the
high points of this latest mode of surgery," he added.
The hormone, whose secretion is must for sugar control,
gets disrupted due to pituitary tumour.
Dr R K Singhal, Senior Consultant and Ex-President of
Association of Physicians of India, emphasises, "of all the
myriad causes of diabetes, Cushioning Syndrome and Pituitary
related diabetes is the only one which is completely curable".
Across the world, every 10 seconds, one person dies of
diabetes. Every 10 seconds, two people develop diabetes.
Diabetes currently affects 246 million people worldwide and is
expected to affect 380 million by 2025.
In 2007, the five countries with the largest numbers of
people with diabetes are India (40.9 million), China (39.8
million), the United States (19.2 million), Russia (9.6
million) and Germany (7.4 million).
By 2025, the largest increases in prevalence of diabetes
will take place in developing countries.
Each year a further seven million people develop diabetes
and 3.8 million deaths are attributable to it. And many die
from cardiovascular disease made worse by diabetes-related
lipid disorders and hypertension.
Bureau Report