Diabetes is the clear and present danger for Indian patients. According to reports, almost 50 Million people in India have Diabetes today and the number is actually much higher, it’s just that most people are not aware that they are Diabetic as yet.
Some time ago we had carried a detailed interview with Dr. V Mohan, Chairman & Chief Diabetologist, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre on the state of Diabetes in the country.
Today Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre (DMDSC) announced the launch of ‘Precision (Personalized) Diabetes Department’– paving the way for a revolutionary approach to managing diabetes. Always ahead of the curve, DMDSC would be the first center to introduce ‘Precision Diabetes’ in India. The department was inaugurated by Mr. Bharat Joshi, Deputy High Commissioner at British Deputy High Commission, Chennai in the presence of Prof. Colin Palmer, Chair of Pharmacogenomics at University of Dundee, Scotland.
The ‘Precision (personalized) Diabetes’ department has been launched to coincide with the launch of a major Indo-UK research collaboration on diabetes between the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai and the University of Dundee, Scotland. The INDO-UK collaborative project is under the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research programme with Prof. Colin Palmer from University of Dundee as the lead from UK and Dr. V. Mohan and colleagues from MDRF as the lead from India.
At its core, precision is a model that proposes customized of health care with medical practices, testing, decisions and treatments tailored to the individual patient level. Diagnostic tests and therapies are selected not only on the basis of generic symptoms but also by the specific risk factor profile and health history obtained from genetic or clinical profiling.
Diabetes is a complex health condition where symptoms differ from person to person and so does the diagnosis. Present day refinements in technology and advancements in genomics and other fields has proved that there are at least 20 types of diabetes that exists. Applying these principles of ‘Precision Diabetes’ will make it possible to accurately classify a patient and determine the type of diabetes any individual is suffering from depending on which the treatment for the patient will be prescribed.
Speaking about the launch Dr. V Mohan, Chairman & Chief Diabetologist, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre said, “Precision Diabetes in the Indian context will be revolutionary. Indians are predisposed to diabetes and with a change in the profile of patients diagnosed each, we cannot adopt a one size fits all approach.”
‘Precision Diabetes’ will be available at Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, No.6B, Conran Smith Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai 600086 and soon at all its branches
