Have we understood diabetes? New tasks for diagnosis and therapy.

Recently published data examining the role of the metabolic syndrome and obesity in cardiovascular disease rendered surprising results. In addition, other studies revealed that there is more to diabetes therapy than lowering blood glucose, which might under certain circumstances even harm patients. In the light that we now know that "death" is as important an endpoint in diabetes as in other diseases, new tools--better than the oral glucose tolerance test--are required to identify the patients at risk, as are additional standards in individualized therapy. A critical view on old concepts is necessary.