Diabetes treatment

Main article: Diabetes mellitus

Insulin

Main article: Insulin

2023

Servier diabetic drug leaves thousands dead

On December 20, 2023, an appeal court in France found the pharmaceutical company Servier guilty of fraud in the sale of the diabetic drug Mediator. According to various estimates, taking this medicine provoked the death of 500 to 2,100 people. Read more here.

Implantation of pancreatic cells into the eyes to treat diabetes has begun

On October 18, 2023, Swedish scientists from the Royal Institute of Technology and the Karolinska Institute announced the development of a new micro-device for the treatment of diabetes and other diseases. The proposed technology involves implantation of the product into the patient's eye.

In people with type one diabetes, the immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, leaving the body unable to regulate blood sugar levels. This provokes many health problems. One of the promising methods of therapy of the disease is the cultivation of new pancreatic cells from the patient's stem cells with their subsequent placement into the implant and implantation into the body. However, there is a problem: the immune system identifies the device as foreign and rejects it. Immunosuppressants can prevent this effect, but at the same time make the patient vulnerable to infections and other diseases.

A microdevice has been developed for the treatment of diabetes, which is implanted in the patient's eye

Swedish experts have developed a way to bypass these restrictions. They offer to implant the implant not under the skin, but in the eye. The fact is that this sensory organ has the so-called immune privilege - the ability to restrain the response to antigens in order to preserve functions. Therefore, there is no rejection of the implant. In addition, the eye is close to the vasculature, which allows insulin to quickly reach the blood flow.

As part of the project, scientists created a 240 micrometer-long wedge-shaped device and implanted it in mice in the anterior chamber of the eye - the space between the cornea and the iris. The device contains pancreatic islets that produce insulin. The team showed that the implant is able to stay in place for several months and function effectively throughout this time.^[1]

In shoes began to embed electronics for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, which leads to disability

On April 13, 2023, American researchers at Rice University announced the development of a new electrical stimulation and vibration therapy system designed for people suffering from diabetic neuropathy. Read more here.

New diabetes treatment takes no medication - procedure performed in an hour

On March 16, 2023, specialists from the Keck Medicine Center at the University of Southern California announced the development of an advanced method of treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. The proposed method does not require taking drugs and/or administering insulin.

Type 2 diabetes, or insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus, is a chronic disease in which the body cannot use insulin effectively, even if the hormone is produced in sufficient quantities by pancreatic cells. This leads to an increase in blood glucose (sugar) levels, which provokes various complications.

New drug-free diabetes treatment created

Research suggests that the duodenum plays an important role in the regulation of glucose levels. And in patients with type two diabetes, the cells lining the duodenum are damaged. The proposed method of treatment is based on the removal of such cells using an endoscope through which precisely controlled electrical impulses are supplied. The procedure lasts about an hour and is carried out under general anesthesia. Patients are discharged on the same day, and in a few days they can return to normal life.

If this therapy proves effective, it can eliminate the need for drugs or insulin, as well as potentially prevent the progression of the disease, which can lead to organ failure and other serious conditions, said Luke Putnam, MD, head of research.

As part of clinical trials, the first patients have already received treatment using the new method. The technology is said to have yielded positive results. People aged 22 to 65 years who have been suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus for 3-10 years are invited to participate in the testing program.^[2]

2022

A device has been released to treat pain in people with diabetes

On July 18, 2022, DyAnsys introduced the First Relief neurostimulation device for the treatment of pain in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Read more here.

Discovery of a new treatment for type 1 diabetes

On January 17, 2022, a team of researchers from Northwestern University discovered a method for treating type 1 diabetes that will help make immunomodulation more effective. The work was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The method uses nanocarriers to reengineer the widely used immunosuppressive drug rapamycin. Using these rapamycin nanocarrier, the researchers created a form of immunosuppression capable of targeting specific cells associated with transplantation without suppressing broader immune responses. Scientists are working to improve islet transplantation outcomes by providing islands with an engineering environment using biomaterials to optimize their survival and functioning. However, problems associated with conventional systemic immunosuppression remain a barrier to clinical management of patients and must be addressed.

New method of treating type 1 diabetes discovered, it will help make immunomodulation more effective

Rapamycin is well studied and widely used to suppress immune responses during other treatments and transplants, differing in a wide range of effects on many cell types throughout the body. Rapamycin is usually taken orally, so its dosage should be carefully monitored to prevent toxic effects, however, it has low efficacy at lower doses.

To avoid the widespread effects of rapamycin during treatment, the drug is usually given in low doses and through certain routes of administration, mainly orally. But in the case of transplantation, enough rapamycin must be administered to systematically suppress T cells, which can have significant side effects such as hair loss, mouth ulcers and a general weakening of the immune system, said professor of biomedical engineering and head of research Evan Scott.

After transplantation, immune cells called T cells reject newly introduced foreign cells and tissues. Immunosuppressants are used to suppress this effect, but they can also affect the body's ability to fight other infections by turning off T cells throughout the body. But the team developed a nanocarrier and a mixture of drugs to have a more specific effect. Instead of directly modulating T cells, the nanoparticle will target antigen presenting cells and be able to modify them, allowing for more targeted, controlled immunosuppression.

The use of nanoparticles also allowed the team to deliver rapamycin via subcutaneous injection, which the researchers found uses a different metabolic pathway to avoid the significant loss of the drug that occurs in the liver after oral administration. With this route of administration, significantly less rapamycin, about half of the unit dose, is required to achieve efficacy.

The team tested the hypothesis in mice by treating them with a combination of islet transplantation and rapamycin delivered using a standard oral regimen and a nanocarrier. Starting the day before the transplant, mice were injected with the altered drug and continued to be injected every three days for two weeks. The researchers observed minimal side effects in the mice and found that diabetes was eliminated during a 100-day trial, but treatment should continue throughout the life of the transplant. The team also demonstrated that the population of mice treated with the nanodelivery drug had a sustained immune response compared to mice treated with the standard drug treatment. Scientists began the process of patenting the method and collaborating with industrial partners to eventually move it into a clinical trial stage.^[3]

2021: EpiFix Transplant Manufacturing Launch for Diabetes Complications That Could Lead to Leg Amputation

At the end of February 2021, MiMedx introduced the EpiFix allotransplantation system for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Transplants are made from donor placental tissue obtained from the mother during caesarean section. These tissues undergo a patented treatment and cleaning procedure that results in a dehydrated graft. It can be stored at room temperature for a long time and used as needed. Read more here.

2019: Artificial blood vessels from organoids helped find diabetes drug

In June 2019, it became known that the laboratory first grew human vessels - this is a breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes and not only.

When a person has diabetes, thickening of the basement membrane (one of the vessel membranes) occurs. This leads to a deterioration in the transmission of oxygen and nutrients for tissues, which provokes a stroke.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia were able to create three-dimensional cell systems (organoids) that mimic the characteristics of organs and tissues. The grown vessels were placed in a petri dish that simulated a "diabetic environment." It was found that thickening appeared on the vessels similar to the deformation of the basement membrane in real diabetes. It remained to find a way to prevent thickening of the vessels, and a way out was found - the drug: "inhibitor of the enzyme γ-secretase."

The study confirmed that this method could be effective in treating real diabetes. According to scientist Joseph Penninger, there are other theoretical possibilities for using grown blood vessels outside the study of diabetes.

The ability to build blood vessels from organoids is a tipping point because every organ in our body is connected to the circulatory system.

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