Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in the world. It is also a condition which has doctors and health officials incredibly worried. The reason for this is the fact that the disease has been considered an epidemic, with more and more people being diagnosed now, than ever before. Currently there are close to 30 million people suffering with diabetes in the United States alone, and furthermore, with more and more cases being reported in other parts of the developed world.
Type-2 Diabetes is by far the most common form of the disease, with 9 out of every 10 people affected by diabetes having Type-2, as opposed to Type-1. The good news is the fact that it can be prevented or even reversed. In this article, we’re going to take a look at a revolutionary strategy, which many scientists believe could be the key to reversing Type-2 Diabetes for good.
Why Treatments Fail in Type II Diabetes?
Currently, all forms of diabetes treatment are focused upon reducing patients’ blood sugar levels. While these treatments are essential, experts have found that they aren’t sufficient. Indeed, even when blood sugar levels have been constantly controlled however, scientists have noticed patterns setting in, whereby after a while, drugs and medications such as metformin, gradually lose their effects, despite having worked fine for a few years. Once this happens, patients will then have to take two or more medications to regulate their blood sugar levels. This is far from ideal because they often present side effects and eventually, they too become ineffective. When this happens, insulin injection becomes inevitable, and nobody wants that. It is obvious that some important things have been missing or neglected in current treatment options.
Maintaining Healthy beta Cell Function Is the Key
Type-2 Diabetes is a condition whereby pancreatic beta cells are still producing insulin, but it not producing enough. Despite having long been considered a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance alone does not lead to the onset of diabetes. Indeed, the symptoms caused by insulin resistance appear only after 50% or more of beta cells have lost their function but can be resolved by insulin injection. Hence, healthy beta cell function means that insulin resistance is not an issue. If beta cell health begins to suffer however, insulin resistance, or insufficient insulin secretion, becomes a real concern, and can result in Type-2 Diabetes.
How beta Cells Become Damaged?
By now we’ve established that healthy beta cell function is the key to avoiding diabetes, but how do they become damaged, lose their function, and die completely? Well, the two most common causes of beta cell damage are ER (Endoplasmic Reticulum) stress, and Oxidative stress within the cells themselves. Unfortunately, current medications have not been able to handle these two issues.
ER stress is mainly caused by the build-up of misfolded proinsulin within the ER of a beta cell. The misfolded proinsulin is highly toxic and causes beta cells to die off entirely. Once beta cells die, they’re gone, so they are no longer able to synthesize insulin.
Oxidative stress is caused by and oxidative species (and partly by the ER stress) located within the beta cells. These reactive oxygen species attack the beta cells by oxidizing almost everything, including DNA of beta cells. Oxidation is why food located within our freezers turns bad after a while, due to exposure to oxygen. A piece of meat turning rancid in your fridge is basically what happens to your beta cells when they are exposed to oxidative stress. Unfortunately, beta cells are extremely sensitive to oxidative stress.
Both above combined can induce apoptosis and rapidly speed up beta cell mass destruction, resulting in a severe disruption to beta cell homeostasis.
ERAD
ERAD stands for Endoplasmic Reticulum Associated Degradation. It is a natural physiological process which specifically targets and removes harmful misfolded proinsulin from the ER of beta cells. Since ERAD can prevent misfolded proinsulin from accumulating in the ER, it ameliorates ER stress and indirectly, the oxidative stress. Just how efficient ERAD is however, is believed to be down to genetics. What’s more, the body’s ability to remove reactive oxygen species is also determined by genetics. If you’re lucky, genetically-speaking, you could have a lower risk of getting diabetes, if you don’t abuse your body. However, if you are not that lucky, you may try to enhance your ERAD, which has not been taken care of by your current medication.
Restoring beta cell function
For those of you looking to prevent, or even reverse, Type-2 Diabetes, restoring beta cell homeostasis is essential. Tactics including enhancing ERAD and removing free radicals and oxidative species from the beta cells should be useful. By doing this, you are acquiring what have been missing in the currently available treatment for diabetes, and as a result, beta cell death rates will slow down dramatically, while the body is generating new and healthy beta cells.
Managing Diabetes
Finally, before we wrap things up, we’re going to talk to you about what you can do to manage your diabetes. These include:
Medications – As mentioned, eventually the body builds up a resistance to diabetes medications, in which case insulin injection will need to be carried out daily. However, that does not mean that the currently available medications are not effective. Even high dosage or a cocktail may be needed to effect, they all directly help maintain your blood sugar level. As prolonged hyperglycemia causes serious complications, medications are essential if you were prescribed.
Synergies that reduce ER and Oxidative Stress – As beta cell homeostasis has not been taken care by regular diabetic medicines, taking synergists that help reduce the ER stress and oxidative stress may be another smart approach for people to manage their diabetes.
Healthy lifestyle – When it comes to treating diabetes, especially for people who are pre-diabetic, nothing is more important than leading a healthy lifestyle. Don’t eat or drink sugary foods, cut out excessive junk food, get plenty of exercise, drink water, and try to manage your weight and maintain it at a healthy level.