[Therapeutic patient education is a lifelong educational activity. As an approach focus­ed on the needs, values and therapeutic strategies of patients, it promotes an increase in patients’ knowledge and skills according to the disease, results in a better quality of life, increased therapeutic compliance and a decrease of complications. Patients become partners and health care providers become coaches. Many type-2 diabetes patients re­fuse insulin therapy, even when this modality of treatment is indicated. This paper aims to explore diabetic patients’ reasons of accepting insulin therapy and the initial barriers to its use, as well as relat­ed education requirements.]

[INTRODUCTION - Data on bone mineral density (BMD) in diabetes mellitus are contradictory in the literature. Early studies described a decreased bone mineral density in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), but recent studies report no osteopenia in T1DM.The BMD may depend on the quality of treatment for diabetes mellitus and on the presence of chronic complications. In type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) the BMD is not decreased, occasionally it can even be increased. PATIENTS AND METHODS - Bone mineral density was measured in 122 regularly controlled diabetic patients (T1DM: n=73, mean age: 43.6±11.1 years,T2DM: n=49, mean age: 61.8±9.8 years) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine and at the femur. Results were compared to those of 40 metabolically healthy control persons with a mean age of 47.5±11.9 years.The patients’ carbohydrate metabolism was assessed by the average HbA1c level of the last three years.These values were 7.9±1.4 % in T1DM, and 7.5±1.7 % in T2DM. BMDs were classified based on the T-score and Z-score using the WHO criteria. RESULTS - There was no significant difference in T1DM or in T2DM compared to the reference group in the prevalence of either osteoporosis or of osteoporosis and osteopenia combined. CONCLUSION - BMD was not found to be decreased in patients with well-controlled metabolism compared to healthy controls.]

[The importance of hypertension in type 2 diabetes mellitus, the method of continuous blood pressure control and patient’s careas well as the forms of non-drug and drug therapy have been disclosed by presenting therapeutical recommendations from American, European scientific societies and international organizations. It has been established that the principles of care and treatment of hypertonia have basically remained unchanged in diabetes all over the world, despite the recent widespread debate over the interpretation of normal blood pressure and the consideration of the benefits of intensive or standard treatment.]

[Authors had found diabetes mellitus type 2 in 30% of 38 886 hypertensive patients (stadium I-III). Diabetes was more frequent in case of women under 30 years. Subsequently all age groups (from 40 to 80 years) incidence was more frequently (p<0.01-0.001) in men, above 80 years again a higher ratio was in women. Presence of diabetes was correlated to rate of BMI value and systolic, diastolic pressure as well. In women - above 140 mmHg systolic pressure - the elevation was exponential. We have found a significant correlation between fasting glucose and waist. Reaching the target blood pressure is not a simply task in hypertensive patients with diabetes. The 140/90 mmHg was reached in 34.2%, 90 mmHg diastolic blood pressure in 62.3%, but the required 80 mmHg only in 16.4% of cases. Achieve the target value was quite different in the different region of our country. The major cardiovascular complications (stroke, renal disease, myocardial infarction, peripheral artery disease) have suffered a higher rate in the hypertensives with diabetes compered to hypertensives without diabetes.]

[The prognosis of patients with diabetes mellitus is mainly influenced by vascular complications which is partly due to the deterioration of the microcirculation. Laser Doppler flowmetry is a suitable method to investigate the complex disturbance that characteristic for diabetic microcirculation. This review gives a summary of the anatomical, physiological and theoretical backgrounds and the possibilities in diagnosis given by Laser Doppler flowmetry.]