Disease of the month: Diabetes

The number of newly diagnosed diabetics in the UK continues to rise significantly. This can certainly be linked to the growing obesity rates across the country and possibly to improved screening procedures and more awareness. It is estimated that more than 2.6 million people in the UK have the condition, and up to 750,000 more are believed to have it without realising they do. The word diabetes is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘a siphon’, aptly named by the 2nd century A.D. Greek physician, Aretus the Cappadocian, due to the excessive passage of urine, which in his mind caused his ...