Our paper entitled “Discussing diabetes, palliative care and end of life care: choosing the right language” reports a core aspect of our research program, which focuses on older people with diabetes, palliative and end of life care for people with diabetes, and the effect of language on clear communication, that commenced in 2009 [1]. 

Today, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus affect 33.3 million people in the United States and nearly 500 million adults worldwide, and there is concern that this number may increase steadily in the future. Previous studies have linked the development of type 2 diabetes to multiple lifestyle factors, including physical activity level and diet, and biological characteristics, such as body composition, age, and race; however, current research suggests that gender may also have an impact on one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Variations in type 2 diabetes diagnosis, prevalence, and progression have been found between males and females.

Depression is one of the most common comorbidities of chronic diseases including diabetes and obstructive lung diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma). Obstructive lung diseases and depression have few symptoms in common. However, they are both common in adults and associated with chronic inflammation. It is not clear if their coappearance in diabetic patients is coincidental or associated beyond that expected by chance.

The protein hormone adiponectin regulates glucose and fatty acid metabolism by binding to two PAQR-family receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2). Both receptors feature a C-terminal segment which is released by proteolysis to form a freely circulating C-terminal fragment (CTF) found in the plasma of normal individuals but not in some undefined diabetes patients.

Currently, there are no effective treatment methods for Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and olfactory dysfunction (OD). Given common pathophysiological features of neurodegenerative diseases such as AD and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), antidiabetic drugs such as exenatide and liraglutide, which act as incretin mimetics, are tested as a potential treatment option.