MEPs And International Diabetes Organisations Call For Better And Equal Care In Children With Diabetes Around Europe
 The call to action follows the UN resolution on diabetes, approved on 20 December 2006 encouraging Member States to develop national healthcare policies for the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes. The IDF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared 2007 the Year of the Child and Adolescent with Diabetes, underlining the priority of the issue in young people.
 Type 1 diabetes accounts for over 90% percent of diabetes cases in children and is an autoimmune disease that cannot yet be prevented. Type 1 diabetes is growing at the alarming rate of 5% among pre-school children and 3% in children and adolescents each year. It affects nearly 100,000 children in Europe. When diabetes is diagnosed at a young age, life expectancy is shortened by an average of 15 years.
 Diabetes has a unique impact on children and their families. "The burden of checking blood glucose levels frequently, getting the right insulin to balance the effect of food and physical activity of your child can take control of your life completely," shared Christiane Bartos, mother of a seven year-old girl with diabetes.
 A call to action for Europe
"Improving diabetes management in children is a major challenge that the EU can tackle by promoting better care and better education among healthcare professionals, patients and their carers across Europe," stated Dr Thomas Ulmer, the German MEP leading this initiative. He commented that a network of centres of excellence for paediatric diabetes could translate advances in science into everyday care by:
-- Helping to share information and promote best practice at European level
-- Encouraging the development of a minimum standard of care
-- Facilitating the collection and monitoring of epidemiologic and economic data
 According to Professor Thomas Danne, Secretary General of ISPAD, "Much can be done to prevent or delay the complications of diabetes if access to adequate care, medication and monitoring equipment exists. However, there are significant differences in diabetes care across paediatric centres in Europe."
 Professor Danne underlined, "Diabetes management in children requires particular attention as a result of long overnight sleep, unpredictable activities and eating behaviour, limited injection sites, and higher sensitivity to insulin. Certain treatment tools, such as insulin pumps, can address these needs better than others."
 Up to 50% of children with diabetes develop complications or co-morbidities, including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputations later in life. Frequent episodes of low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia) may affect the cognitive function in young children and severe attacks are estimated to contribute to the higher mortality rate in children with diabetes than the general population.
 Another complication affecting children is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a state of inadequate insulin levels resulting in high blood glucose and accumulation of organic acids and ketones in the blood. DKA is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children with type 1 diabetes but can be reduced by early diagnosis and optimal management.Â
"Diabetes among children and adolescents is an overlooked crisis, which is buried by the vast number of adults with type 2 diabetes. Better awareness means better care," stated Tony O'Sullivan. "The transfer from child to adult care patterns is widely acknowledged as a major area of failure of healthcare systems and erosion of the patient's motivation for self-care. Europe can and must take more care of young people facing a lifetime with diabetes."
 "It is really hard to force an unpredictable and lively child into a very strict routine," added Christiane Bartos. "Access to treatment that allows more flexibility can really change your life." According to IDF data, the cost to treat and prevent diabetes and its complications in Europe in 2007 will account for over €44 billion and is likely to exceed €57 billion by 2025.
 The International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) is the only international society focusing specifically on all types of childhood diabetes and aims to promote clinical and base science, education and advocacy in childhood and adolescent diabetes. See www.ispad.org
 The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an organization of over 190 member associations in more than 150 countries. Its mission is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. IDF lead the campaign for a UN Resolution on diabetes. See www.unitefordiabetes.org.
 Thomas Ulmer, MD, is a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety at the European Parliament. A physician with over 20 years of practice, Dr Ulmer is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for the European People's Party. In 2006, he authored the European Parliament written declarations on Hepatitis C and on pharmaceutical active principles and a report on the review of the medical device directive.
 This initiative is promoted by Dr Ulmer with the support of IDF Europe and ISPAD and its content reflects solely the opinion of the speakers involved. Cost for the initiative has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant by Medtronic Inc.
Deputaþii europeni ºi a organizaþiilor internaþionale de diabet zaharat de apel pentru o mai bunã îngrijire ºi egal la copii cu diabet zaharat de prin Europa - MEPs And International Diabetes Organisations Call For Better And Equal Care In Children With Diabetes Around Europe - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate