MUSC remains an international leader in diabetes research and patient care

Your generous support enables the Division of Endocrinology to continue to be a global leader in improving the lives of people with diabetes.

Investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have worked with the landmark Type 1 diabetes study, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), since its inception in 1984. Considered the most important development in diabetes-related research since the discovery of insulin, findings from the DCCT and its follow-on study, Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC), have changed the way diabetes is treated worldwide.

Diabetes is an epidemic in the United States and worldwide, and its complications are increasingly common: heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, amputations, nerve damage, and adverse outcomes of pregnancy for mother and baby, with life-long consequences for both. For more than 30 years, MUSC’s Division of Endocrinology has been at the forefront of a global effort to conduct research and develop new therapies to address this epidemic in an effort to improve the lives of people with diabetes.

Collaborating with national and international investigators, MUSC has assembled a unique, irreplaceable, and invaluable collection of human clinical samples. Investigators use these samples to understand why people with diabetes develop serious and life-threatening complications — and to discover cures. With the passage of time and the accrual of clinical outcomes, this sample collection has become more — not less — valuable, enabling MUSC investigators to initiate new studies far into the future. Their work is trans-generational, studying patients throughout their lives, requiring a continuous commitment over decades from both investigators and funding sources. There is no other sample set in existence that rivals that of the one here at MUSC. Your support enables us to build on the unique legacy at MUSC, bring to fruition long-term research projects of global significance, and ensure that MUSC remains a national and international leader in diabetes research and patient care.

What’s your type?

• Type 1 diabetes: The body does not produce insulin. It can develop at any age and there is no known way to prevent it.
• Type 2 diabetes: The body cannot use insulin properly. It can develop at any age, but steps can be taken to delay or prevent the onset.
• Collectively, diabetes affects 14.1% of the South Carolina adult population.
• The risk of preeclampsia is dramatically increased in women with diabetes, in whom 15 to 30% of pregnancies are affected.
• Diabetes and prediabetes cost an estimated $10,000 per minute in South Carolina.

What’s MUSC doing about it?

• To address the overwhelming need for diabetes care in our state, MUSC recently established a telemedicine clinic in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
• To improve the care of pregnant women and pregnancy outcomes, MUSC is launching a first-of-its-kind joint ob-gyn/endocrinology clinic in South Carolina.
• Under the umbrella of the Diabetes Initiative of South Carolina, the Diabetes Center of Excellence provides oversight for developing professional education programs for health care workers in South Carolina.