Miami, FL, November 14, 2007 – The Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is joining the International Diabetes Federation, the United Nations and thousands of concerned people around the world to recognize World Diabetes Day on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, and to help raise awareness about this devastating disease.
The Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), a world leader in cure-focused research, is urging concerned people everywhere to share in the responsibility to cure diabetes. The World Diabetes Day message could not be more appropriate for the DRI, whose commitment to cure diabetes by collaborating with other leading scientists worldwide is central to its research philosophy.
“Everyone has a part to play in the eradication of this worldwide disease,” notes Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Research Institute. “Diabetes is creeping into the homes of more and more people, causing complications and shortening lifespans of both children and adults. It is a complex and still unconquered disease that deserves to be moved to the front of public awareness so we can apply all science has towards finding a definitive cure as quickly as possible.”
In honor of World Diabetes Day, Dr. Ricordi is asking people around the world to join the fight against diabetes and help the millions of children and adults who face this daily battle. To view his message, please visit World Diabetes Day.
Diabetes affects 246 million people worldwide, including more than 21 million in the United States. In December of 2006, the United Nations passed a landmark Resolution recognizing diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease. The Resolution designates World Diabetes Day as a United Nations Day to be observed every year starting in 2007.
This year’s World Diabetes Day aims the spotlight on children and adolescents suffering with type 1 diabetes, the most severe form of the disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Without the ability to naturally produce this vital hormone, patients must take daily, multiple insulin injections to maintain normal blood glucose levels.
In many parts of the world, insulin and other necessary medical supplies for optimal type 1 diabetes management are not available. Consequently, countless numbers of children die unnecessarily from diabetes. Additionally, the longer a person lives with type 1 diabetes the higher is his/her risk for developing crippling complications, such as kidney disease, nerve damage, blindness, amputation of extremities, heart disease and stroke, among other devastating ailments.
The discovery of a universal cure for type 1 diabetes will save billions of dollars and, more importantly, spare millions of people from immeasurable pain and suffering. The Diabetes Research Institute is committed to fulfilling this mission for all people living with this disease.
About the Diabetes Research Institute
The Diabetes Research Institute, a center of excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is a recognized world leader in cure-focused research. Since its inception in the early 1970s, the DRI has made significant contributions to the field of diabetes research, pioneering many of the techniques used in islet transplantation. From innovations in islet isolation and transplant procedures to advances in cell biology and immunology, the DRI is now developing new cell-based therapies to restore insulin production. For the millions of families already affected by diabetes who are looking to the world of science for answers, the Diabetes Research Institute is the best hope for a cure. To learn more, visit www.DiabetesResearch.org or call 800-321-3437.
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