A multi-institutional team including scientists from the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) led by Dr. Raimund Herzog, has shown that ultrasound stimulates specific neurometabolic pathways in the body. This causes the body to produce insulin and can diabetes be cured† The team published this study in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Insulin
Type 2 diabetes is a disorder in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) for fuel. This long-term condition causes too much sugar to circulate in the bloodstream. Ultimately, this elevated blood sugar level makes one susceptible to circulatory, nervous and immune system disorders.
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the cells respond poorly to insulin and absorb less sugar. This chronic condition affects millions of people around the world. It is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation. Various studies are regularly conducted to find the most effective treatments.
New ways
“While we already have a wide variety of anti-diabetes drugs to treat high glucose levels, we are always looking for new ways to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes,” Herzog said in the Yale University press release. “Unfortunately, there are currently very few drugs that lower insulin levels.”
“If our ongoing clinical studies confirm the promise of the pre-clinical studies reported in this article, and ultrasound can be used to lower both insulin and glucose levels, then ultrasound neuromodulation would be an exciting and entirely new addition to the current treatment options for our patients.”
Brain
Raimund Herzog’s team discovered new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the brain’s energy substrate metabolism. This laid the foundation for the development of targeted therapies that protect the brain against complications and injury associated with diabetes.
They used ultrasound treatment of blood glucose. Herzog points out that while a wide variety of anti-diabetic drugs are available to treat high glucose levels, it is still important to find new ways to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes.
Groundbreaking results in type 1 diabetes research
Scientists have made an important step forward in research into type 1 diabetes.
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Signals to the brain
In the study, the ultrasound pulses were used to activate metabolic sensory nerve pathways in the liver related to glucose management. Normally, the liver’s sensory nerves can increase or decrease the signal to the brain during various metabolic events (such as eating or fasting). The ultrasound pulses triggered the sensory nerve signals to the metabolic control centers in the brain.
Finally, it was shown that the effect of the ultrasound pulses could prevent or reverse the development of high glucose in multiple animal species and models of type II diabetes. Currently, Raimund’s team has begun the next step in their study, which involves conducting human-focused feasibility tests on type 2 diabetics.
This step looks promising for a future where the treatment of diabetes no longer requires blood sugar tests, insulin injections or even pharmacological drugs. The aim of such studies is to come up with an effective and long-lasting treatment for type 2 diabetes.
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