Diabetes: Can Gene Therapy Normalize Blood Glucose Levels?

Diabetes: Can gene therapy normalize blood glucose levels?

Researchers may have just found a way to restore normal blood glucose levels in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, which could prove to be a promising solution for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the future.
Dr. George Gittes, a professor of surgery and of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania, and team led the study. Their findings were published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Type 1 diabetes, a chronic autoimmune disease, affects around 1.25 million children and adults in the United States.
The immune system that usually destroys germs and foreign substances mistakenly launches an attack on the insulin-producing beta cells that are found in the pancreas, which then results in high blood glucose levels.
Over time, type 1 diabetes can have a significant effect on major organs and cause heart and blood vessel disease, damage to the nerves, kidneys, eyes, and feet, skin and mouth conditions, and complications during pregnancy.
Researchers in the type 1 diabetes field have aimed to develop a treatment that preserves and restores function to beta cells, which would, in turn, replenish insulin, responsible for moving blood glucose into cells for energy.
One barrier to this solution is that the new cells that arise from beta cell replacement therapy would likely also be destroyed by the immune system.
To overcome this hurdle, the team hypothesized that other, similar, cells could be reprogrammed to behave in a similar way to beta cells and produce insulin, but which are different enough not to be recognized and destroyed by the immu Continue reading

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What Are the Signs of Too High Blood Sugar?

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are often associated with very high levels of blood glucose or blood sugar. Hyperglycemia or high levels of blood glucose is known to cause a host of complications in the body. Hence, it is imperative that you are aware of the various signs and symptoms that are specific to high blood glucose so that appropriate steps can be taken to deal with the situation effectively. In this article, we shall discuss some of the warning signs of high blood glucose levels.
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Normal Blood Sugar Range
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What Does High Blood Sugar Mean?
High blood sugar, as the name suggests, means when the glucose level in the blood becomes too high. It is also known as hyperglycemia. When you have high levels of blood glucose, you actually know that either the body is not producing enough insulin or the insulin so produced is not being utilized by the body in an efficient manner. If you are a person who suffers from diabetes and is not keeping your blood glucose levels constant and stable, you might become hyperglycemic really soon.
There are two main types of hyperglycemia:
Fasting Hyperglycemia
This is the level of blood glucose that you have when you have not eaten for at least eight hours or so. If the blood glucose falls within the range of somewhere around 70 milligrams per deciliter to 130 milligrams per deciliter, you have normal blood glucose. Anything beyon Continue reading

Sourdough and blood sugar response.

Sourdough bread makers have long known that the loaves they bake have a better flavour, crisper crust and a chewier interior than commercially produced breads, but one of the things I am most often asked about when I teach on sourdough bread making courses are the health benefits of long fermented bread. There are lots of claims about sourdough bread, some of them are true, some are urban myths, but the results of trials carried out in Canada have proven that a sourdough loaf has measurable health benefits when compared to both commercial white and whole-wheat loaves.
Terry Graham a professor in human health and nutritional sciences at the University of Guelph, Ontario lead a team of researchers who studied four types of breads to determine which had the most positive health effects when it comes to carbohydrate metabolism, blood sugar and insulin levels. The results were impressive. The results of these studies are not new news. Some of the findings were first published in 2008, but Professor Graham has recently retired, and I was lucky enough to catch him and ask directly specifics about what the studies revealed about sourdough bread.
Terry explained that they initially set out to compare the way different types of bread were digested and assimilated into the body. Their results suggest that the grains used, the way they were milled and how the bread was made all affect the properties of a loaf. More importantly for fans of sourdough bread, they discovered that the long fermentation involved in baking with natural yeasts resulted in a loaf that was digested more slowly a Continue reading

Is diabetes pill an anti-ageing wonder drug, and magic bullet to treat cancer and Alzheimer’s?

One of the hottest new anti-ageing drugs has in fact been around for a long time. Discovered in 1922, metformin was introduced as a medicine in France in 1957 and has been widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes – and it still is – but research now suggests it may have a number of additional health benefits. What’s more, it’s very affordable.
Metformin is derived from a plant, French lilac, also known as goat’s rue, that has been used since the Middle Ages for the treatment of diabetes. It is also a staple in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is known as quei fu di huang wan and is used for diabetes as well as to treat elevated blood sugars and for preventive health. At one time the plant was fed to goats, as it was thought to improve milk production, thus the name goat’s rue.
There are more than 700,000 people with diabetes in Hong Kong and that number is expected to jump to 1.02 million by 2030, according to Dr Rose Ting Zhao-wei, a specialist in endocrinology. Metformin is among the most common treatments for type 2 diabetes, but increasingly it is also being recognised as being able to do much more.
A 2014 study at Cardiff University of more than 180,000 people found that when patients with diabetes were given metformin they lived longer than those without the condition. “That was the big leap to, ‘Wow, we should take it, why are diabetics healthier than we are’,” says Dr Lauren Bramley at Dr Bramley & Partners, a medical practice in Hong Kong’s Centrat district that focuses on wellness.
We tend to lose insulin sensitivity as we age. Continue reading

These Are The Best Cannabis Strains For Diabetes

Medical cannabis is more available than ever before. While many may not think of the herb as their go-to treatment for diabetes, early evidence suggests that the herb may be beneficial for both the autoimmune and type 2 diabetes. But, what are the best cannabis strains for the condition? Here’s how to find the perfect strain for diabetes and seven new flowers to try.
Cannabis strains for diabetes
There are a few ways in which cannabis may help with diabetes. First, the herb may help with certain symptoms of the disease, such as neuropathy, nausea, and vomiting. Secondly, early studies suggest that the certain compounds in the herb may improve insulin resistance and reduce fasting glucose.
The primary psychoactive in the herb, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may ease pain and discomfort. However, cannabidiol (CBD) and a lesser known cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), have both shown anti-diabetic properties. Here are seven cannabis strains that may be useful for medical cannabis patients with diabetes:
1. Harlequin
Harlequin is a high-CBD sativa with a with a 5 to 2 ratio of CBD to THC. Early animal research suggests that CBD may be beneficial for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
An experiment published in 2008 found that the cannabinoid may prevent the onset of autoimmune diabetes in mice. Other research has shown that the compound significantly reduced cholesterol in human patients at doses of 100 milligrams twice daily.
Unlike high-THC strains, Harlequin will not cause a psychoactive high. Rather, this bud promotes relaxation, eases pain, and provides an overall po Continue reading