Fighting Diabetes, Proactively!

The main cause of is Type 1 diabetes is the failure “Islets”, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Researchers have been trying to go to the basics and transplant healthy Islets into Diabetic patients. Looks like the transplants are rejected, but a team of Israeli scientists seem to have found a way to successfully transplant healthy islet.

The Israeli team then opted for a new approach, ignoring the rejection of the grafted cells and focusing instead on inflammation caused by the transplant itself. Lewis grafted healthy islets into diabetic mice and treated them with an anti-inflammatory drug called alpha-1-antitrypsin, or AAT. Within months, they discovered three encouraging results:

Source: sfgate

In another breakthrough, Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found a vaccine that reversed Type-1 Diabetes in Mice. Though, it doesn’t imply that it will work on Human, this certainly is a very optimistic development. Clinical Trials on Humans will begin soon says the report.

An experimental vaccine has prevented and reversed type 1 diabetes in laboratory animals, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh reported Wednesday.

The vaccine has not been tested in humans, but researchers hope to begin clinical trials late next year. [source]

Gastric bypass surgery can actually prevent diabetes, says doctors. Gastric surgery or Bariatrics, popularly known as obesity surgery just adjust the size of your stomach by using various techniques. This treatment which is a very popular treatment for weightloss helps in the reduction of blood glucose levels, and thus helps fight diabetes in turn.

Doctors say weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, works because it leads to long-term weight loss, which helps lower blood sugar levels. Some of the latest research shows that diabetes goes away in many patients who undergo gastric bypass even before they start losing significant amounts of weight.[Via]

I never thought of this, but Diabetes can actually be controlled by a strict diet plan. and by doing a bariatic bypass, you are actually enforcing a strict diet, and yes this can actually work.

The doctor goes on to say that 89 percent of his patients were cured. He calls it suppression rather than cure.
Even though this can be a very effective cure for Diabetes, problem is that not every one can undergo this surgery. The NIH has some eligibility criteria on who actually can go for this surgery. Looks like, ONLY the morbidly obese should undergo this surgery.

The El Paso Diabetes Association expects to raise more than $10,000 for its programs with the second Diabetes Awareness Walk from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Ascarate Park.

This year’s TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes, organized as a fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, will take place June 1 at Riverfront park, on Assumption Blvd.

There is report that an anti-inflammatory drug called Salsalate might help in the treatment of Type - II diabetes. Earlier, the researchers the Joslin Diabetes Center had reported that Salsalate might prevent Diabetes, and tests are still going on. Now, this is really good news for millions of patients, if the test were successful and if this medicine would actually reverse Diabetes Type II.

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center who reported earlier this year that an inexpensive, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug called salsalate might prevent type 2 diabetes are now reporting that the drug may also be beneficial in the treatment of the disease.[source]

Salsalate is similar to salicylate, which is found in the common aspirin. Salicylates have been known for sometime to reduce blood glucose levels, but it cannot be used in the treatment of diabetes since it is harmful to the stomach when taken in excess. Salsalate seems to have the Blood Glucose lowering capacity similar to Salicylates, and is not harmful to the stomach.

There are currently Clinical Trails going on to see if these can prove to be an affordable treatment of the Diabetes Type II. I sure hope it is successful.