Ghrelin, Diabetes and Obesity - Prospects for an Anti-obesity Vaccine

Abstract

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide and nowadays stands as a major public health problem. Undoubtedly, the 21st century has the most diabetogenic environment in human history. The number of people living with diabetes has soared to 366 million, and the disease kills one person every seven seconds, posing a "massive challenge" to healthcare systems worldwide. Diabetes is a huge and growing problem, and the costs to society are high and escalating, affecting all countries. Over the past 25 years or so, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the USA has almost doubled, with three- to five-fold increases in India, Indonesia, China, Korea and Thailand. JMS 2011;14(2):38-39.