Treatment of diabetes mellitus: the future

For more than half a century the management of hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus has included rigid diets and intermittent subcutaneous insulin administration. These methods have been totally unsuccessful in restoring glucose homeostasis to normal in most diabetic patients. This review focuses on techniques that offer promise as alternatives or adjuncts to the current modalities of treatment. Specific areas discussed include pancreatic transplantation, islet cell transplantation, artificial beta cell devices, and the glucagon-suppressing agent somatostatin. Although many of these show promise for the future, a cure for the metabolic abnormalities of diabetes is not imminent.