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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andrew H who wrote (12635)	12/16/1997 7:43:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

Andy, Here's yet another story on the diabetes epidemic. Just as LGND has become very well positioned with SERMs (of the 4 drugs mentioned in the Boston Glode article, LGND is involved with 3 and they have a Strategic Alliance with the company involved with the 4th), they are moving in that direction with Rexinoids and TZDs. L O N D O N, Dec. 15 - The number of people with diabetes is predicted to double to 220 million worldwide by the year 2010. Currently, 2.1 percent of the world's population has diabetes, but it may increase to more than 3 percent in the next 12 years. Most of the new cases will occur in Asia, which will have 61 percent of the global total, a study said. "With the unrestrained forces of economic globalization and industrialization, the prevalence of diabetes is likely to dramatically increase in the next millennium," said Dr. Paul Zimmet, a coauthor of the report published in the journal Diabetic Medicine. "What makes these figures particularly worrying is that the burden of this increase in prevalence will fall disproportionately on those societies who may be least well equipped to deal with it," he added. The disease and the ailments it causes, including kidney disease, strokes, heart attacks, blindness and nerve damage that can result in amputations, will be a major public health problem for most countries. Cases in Asia are expected to swell from an estimated 66 million in 1997 to more than 132 million in the year 2010. The disease will continue to rise throughout the Western world, but at a faster rate in developing countries. Zimmet and his colleagues who worked on the study said they hope it will raise awareness about the disease and encourage governments to improve monitoring and prevention. Prevention Possible "This research paints a very bleak picture of the future both nationally and globally," George Alberti, the vice chairman of the British Diabetes Association, said in a statement. He called for more investment in finding a cure for diabetes and said it's vital that the medical infrastructure, including specially trained health experts and fully equipped centers, be in place to deal with the problem. Diabetes is caused by a deficiency in the production of insulin, the hormone that controls human metabolism and blood sugar levels. It is the fourth leading cause of death in most developed countries. People with juvenile onset, or Type 1 diabetes, produce little or no insulin. The condition can be controlled with insulin injections but sufferers face a lifetime of treatment. Type 2, adult onset diabetes, causes abnormal insulin responses. Milder forms are treated with diet and exercise, or drugs that stimulate the pancreatic secretion of insulin. Studies have shown that obese people have a much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.