One In Four Americans

At High Risk For Diabetes

DANBURY — A panel of diabetic experts at Danbury Hospital estimate that about one in four Americans suffer from “prediabetic metabolic syndrome,” a silent condition that is a precursor to diabetes.

In prediabetic metabolic syndrome, a person’s blood sugar will be normal, but changes in the body start mimicking that of diabetes long before symptoms are felt, according to Stanley Saperstein, MD, a physician in the Danbury Hospital Department of Medicine/Nephrology.

“The roots of diabetes begin decades before blood sugar rises,” he said.

Dr Saperstein was a featured speaker at a recent community health education program at Danbury Hospital, “Type II Diabetes Update — A Focus on Cardiovascular Disease.” The program was sponsored by the Stanley Saperstein, MD, and Eleanor L. Saperstein Diabetus Mellitus Complications Educational Endowment.

Speaking with Dr Saperstein were Rita Landman, MD, Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism; Robert Ruxin, MD, Department of Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine; Ronald Raymond, MD, Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology; and Howard Garfinkel, MD, Department of Medicine, chief of the Section of Nephrology and Hypertension.

The endowment lecture provided the greater Danbury community with an opportunity to hear a panel of doctors share new information on prevention and treatment of diabetes, and the complications the disease can cause.

Catching the disease in the prediabetic metabolic syndrome, in essence before it starts, is key, according to Dr Saperstein. The panel of doctors also discussed the power of prevention in diabetes, which begins with keeping one’s weight under control.

Weight gain can trigger a set of reactions in the body, according to Dr Saperstein, because excess fat makes and attracts inflammatory cells. Inflammatory cells, he said, attack insulin receptors, attack arteries, and break down fat tissues that release fat into the bloodstream. All these actions can add up to cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke.

In many instances, those with this syndrome have a defect in the way the body metabolizes sugars and fats. During this syndrome, blood sugars can be normal because the pancreas compensates for the defect in metabolism. When the pancreas stops overproducing insulin, diabetes can develop.

It is during this syndrome that the body can be damaged. “Diabetes is a disease that affects many organs of the body,” said Dr Landman, causing problems with blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye disease, and cholesterol, among other complications.

During the prediabetic metabolic syndrome, people often become obese, have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, get high blood pressure, and experience inflammation. Preventing these side effects can help prevent disease.