Diabetes Could Be Cured With Cells Retrained to Produce Insulin

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have developed a way that could potentially cure type 1 diabetes by retraining gastrointestinal cells into insulin producing cells. While stem cells have been used in many of the attempts to create the necessary replacement cells, scientists have been unable to get them to function as they needed. This new research has found that changing the function of existing cells may restore the same type of insulin production expected in a healthy body. This new technique has already proven effective in lab mice and new studies using human tissue are showing promise.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Once these cells are eliminated the body is no longer able to create the substance necessary for natural functioning, and individuals afflicted with the disease are forced to inject the required drug. In order to effectively adjust dosage, these individuals have to calculate how it will affect their body based on dietary intake, exercise amount and blood sugar levels in order to prevent dangerous drops or spikes in glucose. Scientists have been attempting to replace the lost pancreatic cells in a way that would respond to bodily changes automatically and prevent the need for injections and complex dosage calculations.

Previous experiments using stem cells have successfully generated cells that can produce insulin, but to this point they still cannot be made to function the same way as the naturally occurring pancreatic beta cells that react to changes in sugar levels. When mouse cells, or even human cells, have been retrained with this new method, research has shown that insulin is only produced in response to the presence of sugar, which corresponds with the natural functioning of the original pancreatic cells lost in the development of diabetes mellitus type 1.

The new technique that could cure diabetes deactivates the FOXO1 gene that prevents gastrointestinal cells from producing insulin and results in a cell that has been retrained to also be glucose-responsive. Once the FOXO1 gene is deactivated, it takes roughly one week for the affected cells to begin production of the hormone, but only in response to glucose levels rather than constantly as converted stem cells have done to this point. This slight difference in glucose response based insulin delivery versus constant delivery could mean the difference between curing the disease and killing the afflicted person due to hypoglycemia, commonly known as low blood sugar.

While this new research indicates great promise, the process is not yet complete. In order to turn a technique that could cure diabetes into a process that does, a drug must be developed that can effectively deactivate the FOXO1 gene in the necessary cells, so they are retrained to produce insulin. Once such a drug is created it will then have to be tested extensively to ensure both its effectiveness and a lack of dangerous side-effects. However long this process may be, though, science appears to be one step closer to winning the battle.

Low carb diets help diabetes and multiple sclerosis in new studies

Low carb diets have been shown to trump low fat plans for weight loss. Now new research is pointing to the benefits of low carb diets for several diseases. Most recently, a group of scientists and physicians have discovered that low carb diets represent the best initial intervention for diabetes, reported Science Direct on July 16.

The experts involved in the new report cite evidence that low carb diets lower high blood glucose and allow patients to reduce or, in some cases, eliminate their medication. And while low carb diets are effective for diabetes regardless of whether patients lose weight, the researchers also concluded that "nothing is better for weight reduction."

Side effects can pose problems with medication. However, the researchers also discovered that no such side effects result from low carbohydrate diets. They cited 12 points indicating that low carb diets are the most effective therapy for diabetes, beginning with hyperglycemia.

Noting that dietary carbohydrate restriction has the greatest effect on decreasing blood glucose levels, the researchers also pointed to the ongoing epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The calorie increases in the typical American diet occurring during these epidemics are primarily due to increased carbohydrates.

On average, Americans eat about 500 calories more each day than we did 30 years ago, and much of that increase comes from foods high in sugar and grains, according to a new study. And while more experts are blaming high carb processed foods for our obesity epidemic, low-carb diet gurus have been earning increased attention and respect for new studies showing that low-carb high fat (LCHF) and high protein diets are most effective for weight loss.

Based on the latest data, the Standard American Diet (SAD) includes a small amount of dairy, a slightly more generous serving of produce and protein and lots of oils, fats, sugar and grains. "It's hard to pinpoint why exactly it's increased," Jeanine Bentley, the social science analyst responsible for the USDA's food availability database, said about the added calories. "But it probably comes from an increase in processed and fast foods."

Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE, believes that low carb high fat ketogenic diets are beneficial for weight loss and diabetes. In an exclusive interview, she noted that her clients have experienced improvements that parallel the new study. "I have seen several people with diabetes experience remarkable improvement in blood sugar control after adopting this way of eating,” she said.

Conducting his own research, Dr. Stephen Phinney, also believes that ketogenic diets are the most appropriate approach for diabetes. "Given both the healthcare costs and the medical risks associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, plus the immediate improvements (if not complete remission) in these diseases with a well-formulated ketogenic diet, this diet should be the primary (aka first) therapy that doctors and dietitians recommend," he said in an interview.

And the benefits of ketogenic diets may also extend to multiple sclerosis (MS) in some studies. However, in contrast to the significant body of research pointing to high fat low carb diets for diabetes and weight loss, the ideal plan for MS is more controversial, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on July 17.

The MS Center of St. Louis, a partner of Mercy Hospital St. Louis, has been active in educating people with multiple sclerosis and their families. Mercy dietitian Rebecca Doss feels that significant evidence does not exist to recommend any special diet.

However, some studies have shown that vitamin D may reduce the risk. Doss feels that eating a high fiber diet may help but argues against saturated fat. But several physicians disagree.

Dr. Terry Wahls, author of "The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine," has conducted new studies showing that high fat low carb ketogenic Paleo dietsare most effective. In an exclusive interview, she revealed that she began her research when she developed MS herself.

"After 20 years as a vegetarian, I read through the scientific studies and decided that the Paleo Diet as an intervention had merit. I added meat back to my diet and removed grain, dairy and legumes. I continued to slowly decline. The following year my doctors told me that my disease had transitioned to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. I took the recommended chemotherapy; I got the tilt/recline wheelchair and even took Tysabri, but continued to slowly decline," she recalls.

Dr. Wahls used the Paleo diet as a template, then customized it "to get 31 nutrients that science said my brain cells needed to thrive. That is when the magic began to happen."

Within only three months, her fatigue diminished significantly. "Within six months I could walk throughout the hospital without a cane and my neurologist agreed that I could taper and discontinue my disease modifying drugs. And within 12 months I was able to do an 18-mile bike tour with my family."

For years, ketogenic diets have been used to control seizures. Recently, for example, a family revealed how their little boy, who suffered from 50 seizures daily, found relief from a ketogenic diet.

But Dr. Wahls feels the potential goes beyond epilepsy, diabetes and MS. "Ketogenic diets are being studied as treatment for other neurological and psychiatric disorders including brain cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s, MS, dementia, bipolar, depression and schizophrenia," she said. In her research currently, Dr. Wahls is seeking how to balance nutritional needs with the focus on ketosis.

Also arguing in favor of high fat low carb diets for MS is Dr. David Perlmutter, creator of the "Grain Brain" diet. He lists several case studies on his Web site showing that halting grains and sugar while boosting fat and protein made a dramatic difference for their MS.

One woman recalls that her "signs of MS started in 1988, but it wasn’t until 2004 that I had an attack that left me disabled and forced to retire from a career I loved in education. I have gone through periods of being in a wheelchair, using a walker, and walking with a cane. Today, thanks to going grain-free, I rarely have to use even a cane."

Diabetes: Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Type 2 diabetes can be cured! There! I've said it. Why, in our modern society where this disease is the seventh leading cause of death, does such a statement get suppressed from the general public?

Both major health entities, medical professionals and Big Pharma, fail to get the word out that withnutritional guidance combined with patient motivation, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed. But the word is beginning to get out. Some of the prominent physicians who are in the forefront of speaking out about reversing diabetes include Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. John McDougall -- all not afraid to say the word cure. It can be done, and they have done it.

Diabetes is not a bug we catch. Most of us know it's the foods we eat that create the dysfunction within, but it's the elephant in the room; some don't know what an elephant is, but most just do not want to look at it.

Let me offer two main conceivable reasons why the public isn't being told:

1. Curing it involves natural nutrition (without the help of drugs), something the medical community knows about and does little with. The typical scenario is doctor discovering that the patient does indeed have type 2 diabetes, instructing the patient to lower sugar consumption, yet will need to take diabetic medications the rest of his or her life.

2. The strong-arm pharmaceutical companies want their diabetes drugs to continue bringing in billions.

Advertisement spending by the pharmaceutical industry was $2.4 billion in 2011, as reported by Nielsen TV. The diabetes drug Lantus had total sales of $7.8 billion in 2013. The forecast for theworldwide diabetes drug market is $47.2 billion by 2017.

This falsehood of only being able to "maintain" the disease for the life of the patient is also unfortunately perpetuated by every major diabetes organization. Upon visiting their websites -- theAmerican Diabetes Association, The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Diabetic Living Magazine-- the common theme throughout is that there is no cure for diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association's website (diabetes.org) proclaims, "diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure," and "eating well-balanced meals is an essential part of taking better care of yourself and managing diabetes." Instead of advising that diabetics stop eating refined grains and sugars, the suggestion on their site is: "Save money by buying less soda, sweets and chips or other snack foods." The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation claims they are "the best hope for cure." They offer many suggestions on managing diabetes, but not how to overcome it. "There is a lot you can do to stay well and remain healthy with diabetes."

The Diabetic Living website gives recipes that include refined sugar and refined flour, as well as artificial whipped toppings and the like.

Even Webmd.com tells us, after all the research and advances in diabetic treatments, "there is no cure for Type 1 nor Type 2 diabetes."

Being privy to successful turnarounds myself with my diabetic clients, I can say it definitely is possible. Being honest, even though it can be done by changes in diet and lifestyle, it is a struggle for many to get there, as well as a struggle to stay there; half of them will most likely revert because resistance to the outside influences and offerings of the restaurants, food manufacturing companies and supermarkets is difficult. It requires diligence and dedication to stay on the wagon for those who have been diabetic for so long, and therefore can fall off the wagon at any time. It's no different for those on the brink of diabetes currently who are continuing to eat refined foods, and soon will join the club. But when patients learn the whys of diabetes, and the horrible consequences of the disease, by rights the incentive should be there.

The culprits behind the onset of diabetes are most definitely refined, processed foods. These include refined sugars, refined flours and refined oils. It's the bakery goods, the hamburger and hot dog buns, and the foods deep-fried in trans fats and additives of highly processed oils. These surround us at all times in restaurants and supermarkets, and because of convenience, we fall for it. What also contributes is a lack of fresh fruit and vegetable fiber that so many avoid in their meals. As with smoking, to quit is to quit. To cure diabetes, quitting all refined foods is a must.

In various reports, there is a definite correlation between the introduction and proliferation of high fructose corn syrup, the rise in polyunsaturated fats, and the decline of animal fats, and the rise in diabetes. In 2012, over one-third of our children were overweight or obese; 80-90 percent of Type 2 diabetics are overweight or obese, which explains the recent popularity of the term diabesity.

It's these influences all around us that make it so difficult to maintain a healthy body. This is why it comes back to us individually to be mindful of what we put into our bodies. The task of preparing more and more of our own foods is more important than ever.

The medical community should be in the forefront of directing patients toward better, natural foods, and, if need be, advising that any diabetic contact a certified nutritionist to help guide them away from diabetes. Any doctor who is still writing the prescriptions for diabetes drugs for their patients at the onset of discovering elevated blood sugar, and not offering advice on food and nutrition, needs to refresh his or her memory of a quote from Hippocrates, considered to be the father of western medicine: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Kellion Victory Medal for Brian’s 50 years with diabetes

WHEN you're diagnosed with diabetes, there's not a lot to celebrate.

But when you've been living with the disease for more than 50 years - it's an achievement worth boasting about.

Leichhardt resident Brian Leslie has had Type 1 diabetes since 1964.

The retired photographer said living with diabetes in those days was no easy task.

"In the mid-1960s, not many people - doctors included - knew much about Type 1 diabetes and the treatments and lifestyle changes required to live with the condition," he said.

"When I was diagnosed, there was no support for people with diabetes because it was so rare, there were certainly no low-calorie food or drinks.

"Decades before that, those with diabetes were probably looking at a death sentence. Back then it was called 'the wasting disease' where little could be done."

At 72, Mr Leslie said he owed his overall good health to the support and care of his wife of 32 years, Glenys.

"Without her, my life and outlook for the future would be significantly different," he said. "She has always been there, watching out for warning signs which would indicate a hypoglycemic attack and helping me avoid them."

Mr Leslie was recently awarded a Kellion Victory Medal as part of World Diabetes Day celebrations.

The award marks a huge personal triumph, commemorating those who have lived with diabetes for 50, 60 and 70 years or more.

The Victory Medal was presented by Diabetes Queensland president Dr Maarten Kamp who said he looked forward to honouring recipients each year. Dr Kamp said the award was a reminder people can still live a long and productive life.

More information from diabetesqld.org.au/

Kellion Victory Medal

The Kellion Victory Medal is named after Claude Kellion. When diabetes claimed the life of his son John, Claude, a successful businessman, established the Kellion Diabetes Foundation in John's memory. Funds raised through the foundation contribute to Diabetes Australia Research Trust projects.

4 effective ways to beat diabetes

Standard diabetes prevention advice (lose weight, exercise, eat better) is not getting through to — or even worse, is letting down — millions of North Americans! The proof is in shocking new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 29 million Americans now have Type 2 diabetes, and 86 million more have prediabetes, a 10 percent jump in just two years.

That means more than 1 in every 11 Americans has Type 2 diabetes and is at increased risk for heart attack, strokes, vision loss, nerve damage, kidney failure, even amputation of toes, feet or legs, along with higher odds for depression, dental trouble, pregnancy complications and high vulnerability to the flu and pneumonia.

The 1 in 3 Americans with prediabetes face huge health risks, too: Having elevated blood sugar levels AT ALL ups the chance for a heart attack or stroke, cognitive problems, depression and sexual problems. Plus, within three years, 15 percent to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop full-blown Type 2.

In the 1970s, about 4 million Americans had Type 2 diabetes. While the number of those with Type 1 diabetes (caused by an autoimmune attack that stops the body’s production of insulin) has grown slightly, the prevalence of Type 2 — caused by inactivity, being overweight, unhealthy food choices and perhaps a genetic predisposition — has soared. YOU can turn this epidemic around by taking steps that will make your diabetes-stopping habits stick.

Here are four “betcha didn’t think of these” obstacles that may be what’s keeping you from effectively applying the standard advice of “move more, eat better, lose weight.”

1 Stress pumps up blood sugar.

Learn to chill.

Stress increases your blood sugar by switching on your body’s “fight or flight” response and by making you reach for foods that widen your waistline (a diabetes risk) and mute your body’s ability to use blood sugar. You can tame tension by getting plenty of sleep, learning a relaxation technique that works for you (deep breathing, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation) and making time for friends and family.

2 Overcrowded days make healthy choices difficult. Do what you can.

Discouraged because you can’t fit in a half-hour walk today? Don’t be. Grab a 10-minute walk at lunchtime. No time to meditate before you rush off to a morning meeting? Use that 15-minute wait before your boss shows up to do a short, relaxing breathing exercise. Gotta feed the family fast before another hectic evening of activities and homework? Hit the supermarket salad bar instead of the fast-food drive-thru.

3 Unhealthy food choices follow you through your day.

Make over your whole food environment.

Start at home by banishing the Five Food Felons: trans and saturated fats, added sugars and syrups and refined grains. Replace those villains (all of which mess with healthy blood sugar levels) with 100 percent whole grains; good fats found in nuts, avocados and olive and canola oils; fruit; vegetables, especially leafy greens; and salmon or ocean trout. These good foods contain fiber, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that help regulate blood sugar and reduce the bodywide damage that diabetes and prediabetes can wreak.

Don’t stop there. Pack healthy lunches for yourself and your kids. And keep healthy snacks on hand at work and in the car. We love baby carrots, a handful of nuts or a juicy piece of sun-ripened fruit, along with water or herbal tea.

4 Don’t go it alone!

Working with a diet and/or exercise buddy is a proven to help you get better results. Sign up for diabetes education classes in your community. Got prediabetes? Check out the diabetes prevention programs (cdc.gov has lists) offered by YMCAs, hospitals, community centers and houses of worship.

Insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes 'may do more harm than good'

A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that for older patients with type 2 diabetes, medications to lower blood sugar levels may "do more harm than good."

Approximately 25.8 million people in the US have diabetes, with type 2 diabetes accounting for 90-95% of all cases.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance - the inability of the body to produce enough insulin or use the hormone effectively, which causes high blood sugar levels. Over time, high blood sugar levels can cause kidney, eye or heart diseases, nerve damage or stroke.

Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is usually determined through a blood test that measures hemoglobin A1c levels in the blood. This test reveals the average level of glucose the patient has had in their blood over the past 3 months.

In the US, type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when hemoglobin A1c levels reach 6.5% or higher. The higher A1c levels are, the greater the risk of other health problems.

Sometimes the condition can be managed through changes in diet, but other patients with type 2 diabetes may need medication - such as insulin or metformin - to help lower their blood sugar levels, and ultimately, reduce the risk of diabetes complications.

But the researchers of this latest study, from University College London (UCL) in the UK, the University of Michigan Medical School and the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital, MI, claim that the benefits of such treatment - particularly for people over the age of 50 - may not always outweigh the negatives.

"In many cases, insulin treatment may not do anything to add to the person's quality life expectancy," says study co-author John S. Yudkin, emeritus professor of medicine at UCL. "If people feel that insulin therapy reduces their quality of life by anything more than around 3-4%, this will outweigh any potential benefits gained by treatment in almost anyone with type 2 diabetes over around 50 years old."

For their study, led by Sandeep Vijan, professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, the team assessed 5,102 patients in the UK with type 2 diabetes who managed their condition through the use of insulin pills or injections.

Over a 20-year follow-up, the researchers looked at how the treatments affected patients' overall quality of life and whether they were effective in reducing their risk of diabetes complications.

They then compared the reduced risk of such complications with the burden of using diabetes medications and the side effects associated with them.

According to the researchers, they found that the benefits of insulin therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes are very much dependent on their age at treatment initiation and the potential side effects, rather than their blood sugar levels.

For example, they estimate that a person with type 2 diabetes who begins insulin therapy at age 45 and lowers their hemoglobin A1c levels by 1% may experience an extra 10 months of healthy life.

But for a patient who starts treatment for type 2 diabetes at age 75, they estimate the therapy may only gain them an additional 3 weeks of healthy life. The researchers say this prompts the question - is 10-15 years of pills or injections with possible side effects worth it?

Prof. Yudkin comments:

"Ultimately, the aim of a treatment is not to lower blood sugar for its own sake but to prevent debilitating or deadly complications. If the risk of these complications is suitably low and the burden of treatment correspondingly high, treatment will do more harm than good. The balance between the two can never be defined by a simple figure like blood sugar level."

The team says their findings apply to type 2 diabetes patients with hemoglobin A1c levels below 8.5%. But they note that patients with levels above 8.5% may be likely to see greater benefits from insulin therapy, as they are at greater risk of diabetes complications.

However, the team concludes that using a patient's hemoglobin A1c levels alone to judge whether they will benefit from insulin therapy is a "fundamentally flawed strategy."

"Instead," they add, "each glycemic treatment decision should be individualized, mostly on the basis of the patients' views of the burdens of therapy, with age and initial level of glycemic control important secondary considerations."

"Currently, we are failing our patients by not recognizing that their preferences and views of treatment burden are the most important factors in helping them make glycemic treatment decisions that are best for them."

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study published in the journal PLOS One, in which researchers took to Mount Everest in order to show how hypoxia - low oxygen levels in the body - isassociated with development of type 2 diabetes.

Written by Honor Whiteman

FDA Approves Inhaled Diabetes Medication

People with type 1 or 2 diabetes now have a new means of getting their medication, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval on Friday of the first inhaled medicine for the blood sugar disease.

The drug, Afrezza, "is a new treatment option for patients with diabetes requiring mealtime insulin," Dr. Jean-Marc Guettier, director of the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release on Friday.

He said that Afrezza's approval "broadens the options available for delivering mealtime insulin in the overall management of patients with diabetes who require it to control blood sugar levels."

Diabetes falls into two main categories: type 1, an autoimmune illness which is often inherited and involves a dysfunction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas; and type 2, which develops over time and is tied closely to obesity. Between 90 percent and 95 percent of diabetes cases are of the type 2 variety, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The FDA estimates that almost 26 million Americans -- about 8.3 percent of the population -- now live with diabetes, which can lead to dangerous complications such as heart disease, vision loss and nerve and kidney problems. Many patients must take injected insulin daily to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Afrezza's approval came after a study involving more than 3,000 people -- approximately 1,000 with type 1 diabetes and nearly 2,000 with the type 2 form of the illness.

For people with type 1 disease, researchers compared the effectiveness of Afrezza in adult patients against that of fast-acting insulin (aspart), used in both cases alongside basal insulin (long-acting insulin). Over 6 months, the combo of long-acting insulin and Afrezza met required treatment effectiveness in terms of blood sugar control, the FDA said.

For patients with type 2 diabetes, researchers combined Afrezza with standard diabetes pills and compared the use of the inhaled drug at mealtimes against the use of standard medications plus a placebo. At six months, the Afrezza-plus-standard medications combination produced better results overall, the FDA said.

The agency stressed that Afrezza should never substitute for long-acting insulin, and patients with type 1 diabetes must use the drug in combination with long-acting insulin. Smokers should avoid Afrezza, as well, the agency said, and the drug is not to be used in the treatment of a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis.

People with certain lung conditions should also not use Afrezza, due to a dangerous complication called acute bronchospasm. For this reason, the FDA has ordered a warning be placed on the product's labeling to caution people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from using the drug. The FDA is also advising that people with asthma avoid Afrezza for the same reason.

According to the agency, the most common side effects from Afrezza were hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), cough, and throat pain or irritation.

The FDA is also ordering that "post-marketing studies" be conducted to track the safety and effectiveness of Afrezza in children, and to see if there is any connection between the use of Afrezza and any lung cancers.