Still another example of customized supports eliminating and reducing the need for treatment.
At the moment, patients over the age of 70 are treated using a blanket method of aggressively reducing blood glucose levels, but that does little to take their complex needs into account.
Dr David Strain, from the University of Exeter Medical School, who led the study, said: "People over the age of 70 are more likely to have multiple complications, such asheart disease, as well as type 2 diabetes. Yet perversely, these patients have so far been excluded from clinical trials, precisely because of these complications. It means they are generally treated with a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. We found that simply by individualising goals and setting realistic targets, then spending time talking to patients rather than aggressively chasing targets resulted in nearly a quarter of patients achieving better glycaemic control, without the need for medication."