Diabetes Center

At CMC, widely recognized as the Best Diabetes Clinic in Dubai, our Diabetes Centre team is by your side to support you from diabetic assessments through your whole treatment plan. We use the latest remote monitoring technology to track your journey and our team includes a dedicated Diabetes Educator. We provide the best diabetes care, helping you manage your condition and live a healthy life.

Our Mission

To provide comprehensive diabetes care from the best experts in the field. Whether you are looking for a comprehensive diabetes consultant or a dedicated type 2 diabetes specialist, we support patients and their caregivers to enable Diabetes self-management and develop individualized goals to better optimize health outcomes.

Our center uses advanced diabetes technology, including remote blood sugar monitoring, to track progress and optimize health outcomes. You choose CMC Dubai for expert, individualized care that empowers you to manage diabetes confidently and effectively.

Our Multidisciplinary Team Includes:

• Endocrinologists and Diabetologists (your primary diabetes doctor and diabetes specialist team)
• Ophthalmologists
• Diabetes Educator
• Dieticians and Specialist Nurses

What is Diabetes Mellitus?

Diabetes Mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterised by hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both.

Diabetes Technology

Diabetes technologies such as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII)- Insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) play a significant part in diabetes treatment, and there have been many studies that emphasize the advantages of using these technologies.

• Insulin Pump: An Insulin pump is a small computerized device. It delivers insulin under skin. There are different types of Insulin pumps which deliver insulin through a fine tube or tubeless. Pumps use only rapid-acting insulin for basal and bolus requirements which will be programmed by the health provider.
• Basal Insulin is a continuous infusion of insulin that is delivered automatically 24 hours a day.
• Bolus Insulin is delivered on demand by the patient, for food intake or to correct glucose levels that are above the target.
• Insulin Pumps Brands Names Include: Medtronic, Accu-Chek Roche, Omnipod Dash.
• Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM): CGM is a wearable personal device for people with diabetes to measure glucose levels 24 hours a day.

Classification of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes – due to autoimmune β-cell destruction, usually leading to absolute insulin deficiency including Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood (LADA).
• Type 2 diabetes (due to a progressive loss of β-cell insulin secretion frequently on the background of insulin resistance).
• Specific types of diabetes due to other causes, e.g., monogenic diabetes syndromes (such as neonatal diabetes and maturity-onset diabetes of the young), diseases of the exocrine pancreas (such as cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis), and drug- or chemical-induced diabetes (such as with glucocorticoid use, in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, or after organ transplantation).
• Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) – diagnosed in the second or third trimester of pregnancy that was not clearly overt diabetes prior to gestation.

Diagnostic Tests for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

The diagnostic criteria for diabetes and prediabetes are shown in the below table:

Diabetes Screening

• Adults who do not have diabetes symptoms should be screened for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes starting at age 35.
• Risk-based screening for Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in Asymptomatic Children and Adolescents in a Clinical Setting are considered as following:
  • Youth who are overweight – After the onset of puberty or after 10 years of age, whichever occurs earlier.
  • Maternal history of diabetes or GDM during the child’s gestation.
  • Signs of insulin resistance or conditions associated with insulin resistance (acanthosis nigricans, hypertension, dyslipidaemia).

Diabetes Symptoms

• Urinating often
• Feeling very thirsty
• Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Weight loss—even though you are eating more (type 1)
• Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)

Treatment of Diabetes

• In Type 2 diabetes – along with lifestyle changes and diet, treatment can include Oral Hypoglycaemic Agents, Insulin injection, or both.
• In Type 1 Diabetes – insulin injection is the only option.

Diabetes Complications

Complications of diabetes include problems that develop rapidly (acute) or over time (chronic) and may affect many organ systems. These complications can dramatically impair quality of life and cause long-lasting disability if they are not prevented or treated.

How do I prevent or delay complications?

Keeping blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol under control will hugely help to reduce your risk of developing complications. This means going to your diabetes health checks and finding out from your healthcare team how to look after yourself between appointments. You can prevent or delay the complications of diabetes, but you need to act, and it’s all about managing your condition well.

Manage your diabetes

Keeping your HbA1c within the target range set by your healthcare team is really important for reducing your risk complications. If your blood sugar levels are rising, talk to your doctor. Your treatment may need to change to get your HbA1c back in target to avoid the complications of high blood sugar.

Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Strong evidence exists that obesity management can delay the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes and is highly beneficial in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Modest weight loss improves glycaemic control and reduces the need for glucose-lowering medications, and more intensive dietary energy restriction can substantially reduce A1C and fasting glucose and promote sustained diabetes remission through at least 2 years.

Metabolic surgery strongly improves glycaemic control and often leads to remission of diabetes, improved quality of life, improved CV outcomes, and reduced mortality.

Further Information

• Insulin: Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas by the islet cells, which binds with sugar (glucose) to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood.
• Pancreas: The Pancreas is a glandular organ located in the abdomen which produces hormones including insulin to help food digestion.