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Human Clinical Trials To Begin On Drug That Reverses Diabetes In Animal Models
Zothecula writes: A study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has shown that verapamil, a drug widely used to treat high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and migraine headaches, is able to completely reverse diabetes in animal models. The UAB team will now move onto clinical trials to see if the same results are repeated in humans.
Are they talking about type 1 diabetes (lack of insulin production) or type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance)? I suspect it's type 2 because fixing a pancreas that's not producing insulin would be quite difficult if not impossible.
If the drug is already in use (for other purposes), wouldn't we be able to see its effects on people already?
Corn subsidies keep the price of Ethanol artificially low so people don't realize how expensive that silly attempt at "renewable" energy really is.
You are missing OP's point, which is type II diabetes is typically a lifestyle/choice disease. Moderation as in, moderate eating, exercise, etc.
However, OP missed something from the article, this isn't type II, but type I diabetes!
What is the difference between an animal model and an animal used in scientific experimentation?
Animal models are SUPER-thin and pout a lot.
An animal model is an animal which has been specifically engineered to resemble human disease. For example, there is a mouse model for melanoma which has a specifically engineered copy of the BRAF gene with a V600E mutation that occurs in about half of all human melanomas along with a knock out of the PTEN gene, also very common in human melanomas. These genes are fused to a tyrosenase promoter, which is only expressed in melanocytes in the skin, and a drug activator so that they can be turned on at a specific time and in the correct place. Melanoma is unknown in mice besides this model and previous cases created in the laboratory with chemical or ultraviolet mutagenesis. "Animal model" also implies some body of literature studying the engineered animal to verify that it really does resemble the human condition better than other practically available alternative experimental subjects.
Yeah. Before insulin was discovered, Type I diabetes was a death sentence.
You would effectively starve to death within a year of symptoms showing up, regardless of how much you ate. (IIRC, actual starvation could prevent/slow the progress in some way)
However, once you've been on insulin therapy for a while, eventually you'll be in trouble within hours of insulin becoming insufficient. (An especially big problem for pump users - people using long-acting insulins like Lantus probably will have 1-2 days before they're in serious trouble after stopping administration of insulin.)
This reminds me of rumors of studies a decade or so ago involving administering long-acting insulin to diabetics in their "honeymoon period" (After diagnosis and starting insulin therapy, in many cases a diabetic's requirements for injected insulin will drop to near zero after not too long, but this only lasts for a few months after it starts) - reducing load on the pancreas seemed to prolong the period, allowing them to rely on their pancreas to handle meals and such.
Of interest is the "52 people between the ages of 19 and 45 that have received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes within the previous three months" - That's a VERY rare category of people. The most interesting is that 3 months is typically within that "honeymoon period". Diagnosis of Type I diabetes that late in life is very uncommon (which is why Type I is often called juvenile diabetes). There's also the fact that this might be far less effective on diabetics who have had the disease for years, who basically have no remaining beta cells. (In most cases, Type I diabetes in mice is artificially induced - in humans the root cause is that the immune system attacks beta cells, however, this might allow at least some of the cells to survive the onslaught by preventing a failcascade due to the cells being overworked.)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
One of the greatest disservices that has been done to people with diabetes is the notion that being overweight causes the disease. It can certainly contribute to it, but the bottom line is that it is a genetic disorder. I personally know three type 2 diabetics who have fine BMIs and get regular exercise. Myself, I was diagnosed as a type 2. I began exercising and lost 110 pounds. And yet I kept getting worse. It turns out that I was mis-diagnosed, and that I am a type 1. It just hit me later in life than it usually does.
Unfortunately, there is now this popular misconception that everyone who is diabetic is a fat couch potato. There was an SNL skit a couple of years ago where a Chinese character in a skit says, "What does America manufacture? Hmmmm. Diabetes?" Big laughs. Oh, har, har, har! Now we read that the largest number of diabetics in the world are in China.
Proverbs 21:19
20 year Type 1 diabetic (LADA) here.
In short, the first poster didn't read the article and reflects the common level of ignorance on this topic.
There is more than 2 types of diabetes,
A lot of what is considered type 1 diabetes is a constellation of diseases that have a complicated relationship with blood sugar levels, beta cell death and the immune system.
What is normally called "type 1 diabetes" occurs at birth and is an immune system defect that shares a mechanism in common with other auto immune diseases which include:
1- Rheumatoid Arthritis
2- Multiple Sclerosis
3- Scleroderma
4- Ulcerative Colitis
5- sjogren's syndrome
The above diseases along with "vanilla Type 1 diabetes" can happen to anyone and are not caused by any lifestyle choice.
There is another clinical trial using adjuvant therapy to reverse type 1 diabetes using a drug that has been in common use to inoculate against tuberculosis and to treat bladder cancer (one of the most curable cancers) since the 1920s. The drug is cheap and would be a game changer for the above diseases once the dosing schedule is worked out to reverse the auto-immune component of the disease.
There is another type of "type 1 diabetes" that occurs in adolescence and early adulthood that is very similar but has characteristics in common with type 2 diabetes:
this is normally referred to as "Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults" or LADA
There is an autoimmune component, type 2 diabetes drugs that increase insulin sensitivity can help in early onset, but not enough to stop the patient from having to eventually inject insulin in order to survive. In a lot of cases doctors will prescribe insulin therapy and type 2 diabetes drugs such as Metformin to reduce insulin resistance and deal with some of the dangerous effects of such a disease on the body (kidney, retina, nerve and cardiovascular damage) that can be caused by chronic fluctuating blood sugar levels. The drug being investigated here (in the article) would probably be targeted at LADA, as it does not appear to address the auto-immune component of this type of diabetes. This still leaves out the problem of the auto-immune attack on the beta cells, so it would not be a cure, most likely but just another treatment that can save some beta cells.
type 2 diabetes is a complex issue and can be caused by lifestyle, but also can manifest due to infections, Liver disfunction, And,believe it or not an overactive pancreas that secretes too much insulin over time causing a situation of fatty liver, high cholesterol, heart disease and eventually the other issues due to high blood sugar.
I actually had a boss who, when I had hypoglycemia, walked up and snatched some of my emergency glucose treatment, out of my hand and gave me a self righteous attitude "You're eating candy! that is Why you have diabetes!" and he totally didn't understand when I filed a HR complaint against him and schooled him that,
1- My blood sugar was low
2- I take care of my disease and he is NOT educated on MY situation
and
3- He almost got punched in the face (I would have pleaded temporary insanity, per the twinkie defense)
4- My diet, diet decisions and my food are NONE of his BUSINESS!
There is SO much bad information out there concerning type 1 diabetes and so many ignorant individuals who just have no clue what is going on with this disease that get self righteous (Based on their little cartoon model of the world) about stuff they know nothing about.
I have spent 20 years studying how to manage this disease out of a grave necessity to do so to facilitate my survival.
People freak out when they find out that I workout 3 times a week, weight training and running.( I still can run a 5 minute mile at age 41!)
They also give me attitude when they find out that, due to my high metabolism, I eat every 2 hours (yes I eat 8 meals a day) and consume close to 4000 calories a day. I have to do this to maintain a healthy BMI with my lifestyle activity (I am a
And, I hope you are NEVER my nurse!!!
Go back to class and learn that Type 2 is not caused just by diet, but by metabolism and genetics and a funny thing called insulin resistance.
I exercise every day, watch my diet, take medications for my Type 2 and STILL the A1C (and weight) keeps creeping up. It is a progressive disease which has some nasty effects on the body. I am wondering when I will be required to take insulin injections as goto drugs like Janumet and Metformin don't get the job done anymore.
Now, go sign up for that continuing education class so you can learn about the disease instead of remaining ignorant about this disease.
Hell, the fact that we're using corn-based ethanol at all is probably due in large part to the subsidies - there are far more efficient crops to produce ethanol from, even if a lot of them don't grow well in much of the US (sugar cane leaps to mind)
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
I'm addicted to heroines too, my favorite is Elsa.
(kidding.) Yes, I know the feeling. Mom: diabetic, Sister: diabetic. Grandparents: diabetic. Me:pre-diabetic.
Zero carb dieting is the only thing that alleviates the constant panicky cravings for food when the hypoglycemia hits.
Of interest is the "52 people between the ages of 19 and 45 that have received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes within the previous three months"
I imagine minors are excluded based on the many legal issues of research on minors rather than an expectation that it can't work on younger patients.
https://www.drfuhrman.com/dise... ... With proper care, a type 1 diabetic can live a long and healthy life, with almost no risk of heart attack, stroke, or complications. Type 1 diabetics need not feel doomed to a life of medical disasters and a possible early death. With a truly health-supporting Nutritarian lifestyle, even the Type 1 diabetic can have the potential for a disease-free life and a better than average life expectancy. I find that when Type 1 diabetics adopt my high-nutrient dietary approach, they reduce their insulin requirements by at least one half. They protect their body against the heart attack promoting effects of the American diet style. They no longer have swings of highs and lows, their weight remains stable, and their glucose levels and lipids stay under excellent control. Even though the Type 1 diabetic will still require exogenous (external) insulin, they will no longer need excessive amounts of it. Remember, it is not the Type 1 diabetes that is so damaging, it is the SAD, the typical dietary advice given to Type 1s and the excessive amounts of insulin required by the SAD that are so harmful. It is simply essential for all Type 1 diabetics to learn and adopt nutritional excellence; they can use much less insulin, achieve a normal, healthy lifespan and dramatically reduce their risk of complications later in life."
https://www.drfuhrman.com/libr...
"Treating Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes with Superior Nutrition
An important aspect is getting enough micronutrients and fiber, which were not mentioned in your post (but you may well do).
He also has a book out on it:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/...
"This New York Times best seller offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse [type 2] diabetes -- without drugs. Diabetes does not have to shorten your life span or result in high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness or other life-threatening ailments. In fact, most type 2 diabetics can get off medication and become 100 percent healthy in just a few simple steps. This book offers no compromises, it is the most aggressive and effective approach to reverse obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease; which typically accompany type 2 diabetes. The information about Type 1 diabetes is simply life saving. It is a must read for every diabetic, as well as any nutritionally-aware person wanting to understand the failure of conventional medical care for diabetic treatments and the "no-brainer" of using nutritional excellence, not drugs."
Another aspect of this may be gut bacteria. You don't drink diet soda by any chance?
http://www.prevention.com/heal...
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesa...
Ongoing research on vitamin D deficiency and diabetes:
http://www.nih.gov/news/health...
BTW, in general, I've heard that exercise, while good for our health, does not help with weight loss because we just eat more afterwards to make up for it. What controls weight in the long term is what we eat, especially micronutrients and fiber, but also good fats and some other things.
Anyway, thanks for the informative post! Glad you found an approach that works for you. Good luck. I helped manage my mother's diabetes for a time (including for a time after my father died giving her injections three times a day and monitoring blood glucose with finger sticks four times a day) and it was not easy (she had dementia and could not do it herself, and even denied she had diabetes sometimes). As you point ou
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
You would effectively starve to death within a year of symptoms showing up, regardless of how much you ate. (IIRC, actual starvation could prevent/slow the progress in some way)
Well from a purely theoretical point of view:
it could be possible to survive on a low-carb diet, eating only proteins and fats and avoiding sugar completely.
Basically, eating only steak and salad, never bread.
(The kind of diet that bodybuilders use).
In that situation the body obtains most of its energy by burning fat and maintains blood sugar levels by gluconeogenesis.
(This metabolic regime consumes some proteins, hence the increase need of meat to avoid starvation).
But it's complicated to get correctly.
Compensating the Type 1's lack of insulin is much simpler.
That's what some think early human diet looked like before agriculture (the theory basis behind the paleo diet). /. recently.
That's also used by body builders to burn fat (as mentionned above).
Before insulin that was the only way to keep Type 1 diabetics alive.
It was also recently been mentionned as a insuline-free alternative treatment. Was mentionned on
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