Nearly 30 million Americans have Type II diabetes, and many more are considered “pre-diabetic” – at high risk for developing the disease. At the University of Virginia, scientists are fine-tuning what could be the cheapest method for delaying or preventing the onset of diabetes as Sandy Hausman reports.
Americans spend billions of dollars each year on drugs to manage diabetes – a chronic condition that can lead to heart attacks, stroke, blindness and amputations, but Assistant Professor Steven Malin says there may be a low-cost way to ward off the disease.
“Exercise is the best medicine we actually have. It’s been shown repeatedly to do as well if not better than most medications we have on the market. It’s getting on the treadmills, it’s going for walks in the neighborhood, getting on bicycles, playing with your children -- all those physical movements you do each day is medicine.”
But to maximize the impact of exercise, he says, it would be helpful to answer some questions.
“What is the best intensity people should exercise? Just like if you were to take a medication – you want to know the right dose. We then will start looking at the times people are exercising – before or after meals or just the amount of time a week.”
So Malin's conducting a clinical trial. If blood sugar analysis shows a patient is pre-diabetic, he or she will be monitored while riding on a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill. Then Malin and his team will measure the impact of exercise.
“We use the ultrasound machine to actually measure the diameters of people’s arteries, and then we look at how well the diameter of that artery changes. We actually apply a blood pressure cuff to the artery, and then we also use another device that is able to measure the pulse waves from your heart and how those pulse waves travel in your vessels to get an indication how stiff the vessel is.”
Stiff blood vessels suggest a person is at increased risk for heart attack or stroke, but Malin says exercise can improve the health of the cardiovascular system while helping patients to maintain normal blood sugar levels. The research team hopes to have findings in 12-18 months – findings that could help doctors tailor their exercise prescriptions to prevent the development of diabetes.