How lizard spit aids diabetes cure

The Times Of India ^ | 7 Dec 2008 | Shobha John

[neverdem]

A year ago, when 58-year-old retiree B S Wig, saw the scales tip at 149 kg, he was dismayed. He was diabetic and also increasingly obese. His blood sugar hit a dismal 350 mg/dl after meals. The normal should be under 140 mg/dl. "I had become weak and refused to socialise. My life had gone haywire," says Wig. Till he was put on to a new drug, which not only reduced his weight to a healthy 118 kg, but his sugar levels to normal. "I can now be dated," he says happily.

Wig is lucky. Most diabetics have difficult lives, with an unending cycle of ill health, weakness and obesity as the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that converts glucose to energy. Plus, diabetic drugs usually make the patient obese, which adds to the risk of high BP, heart problems and strokes. So it's essential to have drugs which control sugar levels and reduce weight.

And that's what a new injectable drug, Byetta, does, say experts. It's made from the saliva of the Gila monster, a venomous lizard found in Southwest America. It's the first in a new range of anti-diabetic medicines and is FDA-approved. However, it can be used only on Type 2 diabetics.

It came to India exactly a year back and now, experts can quantify its success. By 2009, an upgraded version may be available.

Unlike Type 1 diabetes where there's no insulin secretion, in Type 2, insulin production from the beta cells of the pancreas isn't sufficient. And for Byetta to work, viable beta cells are needed, says Dr Ambrish Mithal, senior endocrinologist, Apollo Hospital, Delhi.

It works in three ways: It signals the pancreas to make the right amount of insulin after a meal; stops the liver from making too much glucose when the body does not need it, reduces appetite and the amount of food eaten and slows the rate at which glucose leaves the stomach.

Type 2 diabetics form 90% of the estimated 40 million diabetic cases in India. Almost 80% of them are obese, says Mithal. Adds Dr Pradeep Talwalkar, professor, diabetology, Raheja Hospital, Mumbai. "It suppresses rise in sugar levels by suppressing glucogon, a hormone which has the opposite effect of insulin."

"Byetta" says Mithal, "can produce nausea and vomiting in some patients. It is a niche drug, not for all diabetics, but is a good choice for those who need to lose weight with high post-meal blood sugar rises that remain uncontrolled even on oral medicines."

"Byetta also carries a lower risk than insulin of causing hypoglycemia, a dangerous condition where the patient can lose consciousness and slip into coma as insulin drops to very low levels," says Talwalkar.

Wig's case is an ideal example. "I was not judicious about my medicines and kept oscillating between oral medicines and insulin. Meanwhile, my weight and sugar levels went for a toss till I started taking Byetta," he says.

It's important for obese diabetics to lose weight, says Chennai-based Dr A Ramachandran, president, India Diabetics Research Foundation, as obesity makes them resistant to diabetic treatment. "It is, in fact, an analog for hormones which produce insulin called incretin." A weight reduction of 5-6 kg a year is good, says Mithal. Byetta is normally given with oral medicines.

But it's expensive — around Rs 7,500 monthly. Rimi Dasgupta, a 41-year-old diabetic, who lost 12 kg and with sugar levels which came down to 140 mg/dl from 390 mg/dl, says, "It's easy to inject, but I don't know how long I can take it as it's expensive. I hope to continue it for a year."

Byetta comes in a prefilled injection pen which uses a small needle. This pen contains pre-measured doses, so the patient doesn't have to adjust the dose. It's injected twice daily before morning and evening meals.

Generally, the patient is started off on a dose of 5 micrograms (mcg) twice a day for at least 30 days, but this could be increased to 10 mcg based on individual results. In clinical trials, it was found that on an average, patients lost five pounds in 30 weeks. However, Byetta cannot be used simply for weight reduction.

Though there are other new medicines which stimulate the pancreas to make insulin without producing hypoglycemia such as Januvia and Glavus, says Ramachandran, these don't make a patient lose weight.

Byetta could just be that shot that makes a difference.

[neverdem]

Where to begin? There's no cure for diabetes yet, just treatment.

Most diabetics have difficult lives, with an unending cycle of ill health, weakness and obesity as the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that converts glucose to energy.

Insulin doesn't convert glucose to energy. Most diabetics are type II diabetics who are best described as insulin resistant. They may eventually "produce little or no insulin," but that doesn't characterize the majority of type IIs, IIRC.There are several forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is often called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes. In this type of diabetes, cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that allows sugar (glucose) to enter body cells.

Plus, diabetic drugs usually make the patient obese, which adds to the risk of high BP, heart problems and strokes.

IMHO, he has the cart before the horse, i.e. obesity was the risk factor for type II diabetes. Type I diabetics are rarely obese. They usuallty look like Mary Tyler Moore. Why would the FDA approve those drugs then? Besides drugs like Actos and Avandia, which have a tendency for fluid retention with concomitant weight gain, what antidiabetic drugs cause obesity? Have at it.

[radiohead]

Why would the FDA approve those drugs then? Besides drugs like Actos and Avandia, which have a tendency for fluid retention with concomitant weight gain, what antidiabetic drugs cause obesity?

I wish I knew. I've never been on these drugs, but from everything I've read, they seem like the last thing you'd give to a diabetic. I don't know why all docs don't use metformin, which doesn't have these affects.

I've been taking Byetta (lizard spit) for a few years now and it seems to be working well for me.

Since diagnosis, I've been able to go to the diabetes centers at the universities where I was working or going to school. I have benefited from some cutting edge care and wonder if a lot of GPs just don't know/don't care about ways of caring for diabetics without killing them.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.

Avoiding Confusion After Surgery

I was reading about general anesthesia when I found something new for me about metformin. See comment# 1 and the drugs that include metformin. It rarely causes lactic acidosis, but that can have a 50 percent mortality.

[theKid51]

ping

[R. Scott]

Glucovance has been working great for me for several years without side effects.

[ETL]

"How lizard spit aids diabetes cure"

Yes, Dennis Nedry no longer suffers from diabetes.

Dilophosaurus was prominently featured both in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park and in the original novel by Michael Crichton. In the film version, Dilophosaurus has a retractable neck frill around its neck (much like a frill-necked lizard), and spits blinding poison, aiming for the eyes to blind and paralyze its prey. There is no evidence to support either the frill or the venom spitting,[12] which was acknowledged by Crichton as creative license.[13]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilophosaurus#In_popular_culture

[tips up]

I thought of this scene too when I saw the post.

[shineon]

[Walkingfeather]

bttt

[Hot Tabasco]

lizard spit aids diabetes cure

I often wonder what prompted that first person to lick a lizard.....

[muawiyah]

You'll notice the general Type II discussion as conducted by researchers in the field is drifting away from the "got plenty of insulin, but their cells refuse to use it" to "got a shortage of insulin".

The "metabolic factor disorder" model was just a model. To a great degree effective treatment could be designed around it, and a diabetic could exercise, restrict carbohydrates in the diet, control weight, use a minimal level of drugs and get along pretty well.

Unfortunately it was observed that many (apparently "most") continued to deteriorat just as if they were losing beta cells.

The approach has changed over the last year to the viewpoint you see in this article. Notice that your pet gila monster produces a substance that mimics a hormone normally produced by your body that controls all sorts of things ranging from production of glucogen to production of insulin.

What I'm going to do is get one of those large glass cages for my living room where the animals will be happy. We'll start raising gila monsters for fun, profit and the beneficial characteristics of their saliva. I have an old friend who has a cage full of these guys in his living room, and as they sit there on the designer rocks in the bottom, looking out at some invisible point on the wall, I can pretend they are not only healthy to have, but highly entertaining!

[Charlespg]

Besides drugs like Actos and Avandia, which have a tendency for fluid retention with concomitant weight gain,

You mean swell up like a baloon

[Into the Vortex]

You’d better be careful milking your (gila) monster!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Metformin is my friend...

[LadyPilgrim]

Later

[definitelynotaliberal]

ping

[Marie]

I know what you mean about the weight thing. My 15 year old son is a type 1 and is as lean as they come. He eats like he has a tapeworm, yet can't get "fat". If he gets sick he looses at least ten hard-won pounds every time.

I feel like punching the next person who says, "He's a diabetic because he ate too much sugar."

[chesty_puller]

I am starting my second week of Metformin. Getting used to this stuff is quite an adventure.

[Neidermeyer]

The rupee is about $0.02 so the Rs7,500 cost makes it about $150.00/month at the current exchange rate.

[bmwcyle]

ping