Diabetes-reversing drug boosts insulin-producing cells by 700%

https://newatlas.com/ ^ | July 14, 2024 | Michael Irving

[Jonty30]

Some here have said type 1. That’s still progress.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

My son has type 1 diabetes and a glucose monitoring system was a complete game-changer for helping him manage his blood sugar. You should take a look at them, if you haven't already.

I have, or rather my doctor has. To date, Medicare doesn't cover them. Having had a lot to do with metrology in my career, I would certainly get one if I could afford it.

There's definitely a learning curve to managing the condition, balancing food intake vs. insulin dosage. I've been doing it for years now, and I'm holding my a1C in the low 6's, but it took a while. Continuous measurement would help a new sufferer a lot in climbing that curve.

I view it as being no different than the industrial process control that was a large part of my career. It's a fundamental principle there that more frequently you measure the better your control will be.

[DIRTYSECRET]

And type 1?

[Flag_This]

I was very concerned about my son driving and experiencing a low blood sugar situation. The monitor gives him a heads-up about the direction his blood sugar is trending and will sound an alarm if it gets too low. For that reason alone, I would want him to have one.

I sincerely hope that the price will come down on these devices so you can obtain one.

[Bullpine]

This will help with type 1 diabetes. Type 2 ( insulin resistance ) can be reversed, how? Give up sugar, in all forms. Cut carbohydrates.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

driving and experiencing a low blood sugar...

Your son will come to recognize the symptoms of low blood sugar. I get the shakes, like too much caffeine. So I keep a small sealed container of refined sugar in the car, within easy reach, just in case. Perhaps because I plan ahead to have my sugar up when driving, I've never used it.

An old friend and colleague who was type one told me 20 years ago that he used peanut butter as a "reserve" at night. Low glycemic index foods feed glucose in slowly, maintaining a safe level without provoking a "peak-and crash", he said. Happily I love Smucker's Natural, which has no added carbs.

[Jonty30]

People who are prone to diabetes have very efficient means of processing carbohydrates. It’s why they need less carbs than most people. It’s thought that people who prone to diabetes are cold adapted more than most people. That is why Diabetes is a native and Northern European disease, although not exclusively.

Yes, if you have a history of diabetes, cut your carbs and strategize, like eating your last carb earlier in the day so your body can burn off the carbs you have ingested.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

Can this coax new insulin producing cells in a pancreas that has stopped producing insulin for a length of time longer than ten years?

My son is a Type-1 and has been for a decade. Can this treatment potentially bring his Laagerhans cells back to life an cure his Type-1?

[Jonty30]

According to some here, probably not. However, it may help in preventing things from getting worse.

[Sequoyah101]

I imagine they no more want a "cure" for diabetes than many other wildly profitable diseases. Hate to be that cynical but experience seems to support that idea.

For a very long time Type II was all a matter of insulin resistance at the cellular level. Metformin et al was supposed to mitigate that so a working pancreas could supply the needed insulin to the cells. All of a sudden and without explanation, apology or excuse it became a problem of not enough insulin being produced because the pancreas just gave up trying to get insulin into the cells. Why this change? Well, Ozempic et al stimulate that rusty old pancreas. Problem solved. A new problem with a solution in search of an answer?

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Metformin as I understood it suppressed formation of glucose in the liver. Others they had me on stimulated the pancreas, to overwhelm the molecule that was causing the resistance. Some of those were wildly expensive (for my company insurance) and I don’t doubt wildly profitable.

Metformin, ironically, was almost as much a hindrance as a help. If I didn’t eat copiously after taking the stuff, I would be nauseated for hours. So much for dietary restriction.

[Adder]

Being diabetic is a daily chore, no mistake.

Yes...I am type 2.