Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes melitus has become an epidemic in the United States with about 1 million people over age 20 diagnosed with the condition each year. About 17 million people, or 6 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes mellitus, a disease in which the body doesn't produce or properly use insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas that converts sugar into energy.

Diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, can cause serious health complications such as blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage and the need for lower-extremity amputations. In addition, diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, dramatically increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke.

UCSF Medical Center is renowned for its outstanding diabetes research, patient care and education. In our research-based UCSF Diabetes Center, research is being conducted to improve treatment and find a cure for the disorder. UCSF scientists were the first to clone the gene that produces insulin in the body, paving the road for mass-produced, recombinant human insulin. Today, our researchers are exploring islet transplantation and gene therapy as treatments that someday may alleviate the need for insulin injections altogether.

In turn, doctors, nurses and others at UCSF Medical Center are at the forefront of translating discoveries made by our scientists in the laboratory into new and improved treatments for our patients. We also provide education for our patients on issues related to diabetes at the UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center, which offers in-depth workshops on diabetes management and self care.

Learn more about our Diabetes Education Online and classes and workshops at the UCSF Diabetes Center.

For information or to make an appointment, please call our Diabetes Clinic at (415) 353-2350.

To contact the Diabetes Teaching Center, please call (415) 353-2266.

Treatment for diabetes in children is provided by the Pediatric Diabetes Program.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated July 14, 2008