Possible treatments for diabetes

Many people that are being diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes, it is not common that someone we personally know is diagnosed with this disease(s). I personally know a few people that are close to me that have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. By being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is because they are not simply taking care of themselves. With one individual that I know was admitted into the hospital to later be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Another one has the same story but is not getting any help from any medical professional and is basically living day to day with sugar lows and highs. I also know another person that was born with type 1 diabetes. At first when he was little he had problems because it was new to him and trying to figure out his body when being dependent on insulin to live. This individual now lives a healthy life and running marathons regardless of his diagnosis.

People that are born or eventually get diabetes over time effects the family and loved ones as well. Being that they have to be supportive and help the individual stay on top of their disease. Also being that it is a lifestyle change for everyone involved. There is a man who is an engineer, that is trying to build a pancreas that you can wear around and the pancreas can give this person whatever their body needs. The reason that this person is trying to invent this is because his son was born with type 1 diabetes and notices how it has affected their family and their lifestyle. With the constant worry if his son is going to be okay and have the life that he has always wanted for his son. It is interesting to see how much this disease has effected many people and how so many people are willing to think of new ideas to help better the lives of loved ones.

With such disease effecting many people today, there are many scientists as well as individuals that are looking for ways that help give diabetics a better option or to try to get rid of diabetes completely. It is known that once a person was diagnosed with diabetes it is common that the individual would be given insulin to help take care of the diabetes. Insulin is used to keep their body in that “perfect window” that the diabetics need in order to function properly. It is said that insulin is not always good for diabetics, which gives people a greater incentive to try to find a better treatment. Some have looked into completely replacing insulin and have the individual injected pancreatic islets. They achieve these donations by having donors going through operation and obtaining these islets through that. The only reason that this treatment is not well known is because they are having a hard time with finding donors that are willing to go under this kind of operation.

Because of the shortage of donors others are looking into gene therapy and cellular replacement by using stem cells and convert them into B-pancreatic cells. Since this solution is less intense for the individual, it is a safer alternative being that there is less chance of organ donation rejection. Stem cell research is a major topic about it being ethical or not but since it is through the unbiblical cord, there is no ethical issues that arise. If an individual is willing to donate the unbiblical cord once a baby is born, this will help the study further as well as individuals that are in need. They are then able to convert these cells and specify it to people that are either diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes.  

With donations and stem cells being a shortage people are looking into plants. The reason that they are looking into plants is because it is believed that people back then ate certain plants to cure their ailments. This idea was tested on mice that were put on a strict diet and only consumed certain plants that were deemed to be helpful with treating diabetes. In this research they were looking into any change in hyperglycaemia (HG) and hypoinsilianaemia (HS), which is any excess glucose or insulin that is circulating in the body. They found that some plants had no effect on HG or HS. But what was interesting is they found that when the mice consume garlic or liquorice it reduced hyperphagia (reduced hunger) but not HG or HS. Some plants when consumed reduced HG levels along with weight loss. Other possible treatments that are looking at plants are putting them into teas and consume them that way. Tea is known to be an antioxidant, and is questioned now to be a treatment for diabetics. So far it is looking promising to individuals that have poor glycemic control.

While people are looking into plants, there are others that are looking into animals and see what animals can provide. They found that there is one animal which is the Gila monster. They found that the monsters venom is able to increase the insulin in the pancreas to help type 2 diabetes (Furman 2012). They are able to convert the venom into exedin-4 which is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor antagonist that can be used today for diabetes 2.

They have also looked into other venoms since finding that the Gila monsters venom works. They found that bee venom when mixed with human hemoglobin and found that the venom prevented glycation which decreases the free amino groups. Bee venom has a antiglycation effect on the hemoglobin which is what is used to transport oxygen in the blood. This can be used to prevent diabetes complications. Being that bees are very common and can be easy to access, this treatment can potentially open more doors to promising treatments.

It is known that a healthy lifestyle, such as regular exercise and a healthy diet can change an individual that is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. As well as with constant care with an individual that is born with type 1 diabetes. By exercising and regular dieting they found that the people have a better insulin sensitivity and overall are much healthier. There was an article that talks about what happens to mammals that have diabetes and fast. Their body tries to overcompensate and try to overcome the insulin shortage by trying to make more insulin.

Overall, what I have learned form this is that we are looking everywhere to find the cure when in reality the cure is right in front of us. The people that are diagnosed with type 2 can overcome the diagnosis and make living easier. The reason that people are being diagnosed with diabetes is because there are people that do not take care of themselves with the right nutrition and exercise. By simply catering to the different lifestyle and the diagnosis, it can get easier as the change can be turned into a habit. Which will eventually, who knows, it might change the friends and family of that individual that is near to them.

References:

-          Sifferlin, A. (2015). The Next Best Thing to a Cure. Time, 185(4), 42-46.

-          Gavriliuc, O. I., Tatu, C. A., & Paunescu, V. (2010). THE RACE TO CURE DIABETES: HOW FAR ARE WE FROM A BREAKTHROUGH?. Fiziologia - Physiology, 20(1), 4-8

-          Zhao, Y., & Mazzone, T. (2010). Human cord blood stem cells and the journey to a cure for type 1 diabetes.Autoimmunity Reviews, 10(2), 103-107. doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2010.08.011

-          Behroozi, J., Divsalar, A., & Saboury, A. A. (2014). Honey bee venom decreases the complications of diabetes by preventing hemoglobin glycation. Journal Of Molecular Liquids, 199371-375. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2014.09.034

-          Aramadhaka, L. R., Prorock, A., Dragulev, B., Bao, Y., & Fox, J. W. (2013). Connectivity maps for biosimilar drug discovery in venoms: The case of Gila Monster Venom and the anti-diabetes drug Byetta®. Toxicon, 69160-167. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2013.03.018

-          Bailey, C. J., & Day, C. (1989). Traditional plant medicines as treatments for diabetes. Diabetes care, 12(8), 553-564.

-          Kamau, L. N., Mbaabu, M. P., Mbaria, J. M., Karuri, G. P., & Kiama, S. G. (2016). Knowledge and demand for medicinal plants used in the treatment and management of diabetes in Nyeri County, Kenya. Journal Of Ethnopharmacology, 189218-229. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2016.05.021

-          Ryan, E. A., Imes, S., Wallace, C., & Jones, S. (2000). Herbal tea in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Clinical & Investigative Medicine, 23(5), 311.

-          Tiwari, A. K., & Rao, J. M. (2002). Diabetes mellitus and multiple therapeutic approaches of phytochemicals: Present status and future prospects. Curr sci, 83(1), 30-38.