Hey there, viewers! Diabetes is a challenging illness.
It’s estimated that 37 million Americans have diabetes. That’s 11% of the US population!
This metabolic disease can damage your nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs.
While there are ways to manage diabetes, you might be wondering if there’s any permanent
cure for it? Well there’s no cure yet, but scientists are working hard to find one.
In fact, in today’s video, we’ll be discussing in detail how there could finally be a cure for
diabetes. From types of diabetes to management, we’ll be discussing all of these AND more…
(Pause)
Let’s begin by first discussing what diabetes is exactly.
Currently, there are more than 500 million people suffering from diabetes worldwide.
If we don’t have diabetes ourselves, we usually know at least one person who does.
The number continues to increase every year, especially since no effective cure
has been invented. By 2045, the number of diabetics is said to increase to 800 million.
All you can do as a patient is try and control the disease as much as you can. Luckily,
things are becoming more hopeful. The last two decades have seen significant advancements being
made in stem cell research to find a cure for diabetes. So, what happens when you get it?
For a normal healthy person, the food you eat is converted to energy.
When you suffer from diabetes, your body will have trouble converting it.
Normally, your body breaks down the food you eat into glucose and sends it to your bloodstream.
As soon as the blood sugar levels go, your body signals the pancreas to produce insulin. This
insulin helps transform the blood sugar into the body’s cells in order to act as energy.
But when you have diabetes, your body can’t produce enough insulin. Even if it does, your body
is probably not able to use the insulin properly. In either situation, the blood sugar levels go up,
causing other health issues such as kidney disease, heart failure, and even loss of vision.
Yes, you heard that right. Diabetes can cause vision loss. High blood sugar can damage blood
vessels in your retina, which is a light-sensitive layer of cells in the back of the eye.
Damaged blood vessels can swell and leak, causing blurry vision and stopping blood flow.
Diabetes is very challenging, but before we dive into its cure and management, we need to learn
about the types of diabetes. Otherwise, how are you gonna learn how to treat it?
(Pause) Different types of diabetes
need to be dealt with in a different way. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition due
to an autoimmune reaction. Your body attacks itself and stops producing insulin altogether.
Around 5 to 10% of the people suffering from diabetes are Type 1.
Those who have Type 2 diabetes can produce insulin. Their body just can’t use it effectively.
As a result, their blood sugar levels go up. Around 90 to 95%
of people with diabetes have Type 2. Our next type you may not have heard
of before. Gestational (jest-stational) diabetes happens with pregnant women.
If you’re suffering from this type, your child may develop health issues later on. While gestational
diabetes disappears after the baby is born, the mother’s risk of type 2 diabetes goes up.
Prediabetes is where the blood sugar levels are high, but not high enough to diagnose Type
2 diabetes. Most people don’t know they’re prediabetic. The doctor has to tell them.
There’s good news for people with prediabetes. You can easily prevent it from becoming type
2 by making healthy changes to your lifestyle. Now that we’ve gone through the different types,
let’s talk about cures. (Pause)
The first one on our list is the cure for Type 1 diabetes.
As of right now, there is no cure for Type 1 diabetes. But there have been some
advancements made in stem cell research and therapies that are showing promise.
Type 1 diabetes is one of the rare diseases caused by one single missing cell type.
The idea behind the new research is to create the cells that are missing, and replace them.
This will help deal with the underlying issue. These new insulin-making cells have shown some
promise. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a company working on this. It’s already worked successfully
on one person suffering from Type 1 diabetes. The person has reduced their use of insulin
shots by more than 90%. They are also able to get most of their required insulin naturally.
There are other companies also trying to find a cure for diabetes.
Novo Nordisk, one of the largest insulin manufacturers in the world, is working hard
against this disease. Other companies across the globe are also fighting to find something.
(Pause) Next on our list is type 2 diabetes.
Just like type 1, there’s no cure for type 2 diabetes. With that being said,
losing weight, eating well, and exercising regularly can help you.
This can also make a difference when you’re struggling with prediabetes.
Just keep in mind that a healthy diet and exercise routine isn’t always enough
to manage type 2 diabetes. In these cases, you need medication and insulin therapy.
This brings us to the next part of our discussion, living healthy with diabetes.
(Pause) So how exactly
do you manage diabetes if you already have it? It can be very hard and expensive to manage any
form of diabetes. There have been technological advancements to help diabetic patients such
as glucose monitors and smart insulin pumps. But it’s still hard to keep track
of things to try and stay healthy. It takes a toll on you both physically and mentally.
There are many things impacting your blood sugar levels. For some,
it could be hormones. For others, it could be elevated stress levels. In other cases, it could
be different medications they’re taking, the food they’re eating, as well as exercise and hydration.
Those who don’t have the disease may think diabetic patients
should just take their insulin shots and get on with their lives. But it’s not so simple.
When you have diabetes, you’re constantly thinking about the ways it can affect you.
Even sleep can be a challenge. Your blood sugar levels can lower while you’re passed out. This can
lead to seizures, and in extreme cases, death. An adult with type 1 diabetes may end up
spending as much as $20,000 a year in trying to manage the disease.
Globally, the costs of managing the disease are more than $90 billion. The financial cost along
with the psychological impact are very high. (Pause)
So, what does the research say? Is there a cure in sight?
One of the issues with trying to find a cure for diabetes is the controversy that
has surrounded stem cell research. It’s a subject that so many people debate over.
The first step is to get access to human embryonic stem cells. They come from IVF clinics.
But there have been steps taken to advocate for stem cell research,
especially considering it’s the best shot to finding a cure for diabetes.
Scientists and researchers have advocated for it more and more over the years.
As a result, the U.S. government has allowed the research to continue.
The idea behind the cure being developed is quite simple. A stem cell, which can be any cell in the
body, will be converted into a cell that produces insulin. But it’s a little more complex than that.
There are a total of six steps needed in order to teach a cell to become an insulin producer.
In the first step, the cell is instructed to become part of the gut
tube. It’s then asked to join the pancreas. Once it becomes part of the pancreas, it’s then
asked to become an endocrine (end-uh-kruhn). This is what makes the hormones. After that,
it becomes a beta cell, which then converts to a fully functioning cell.
The research was led by Dr. Doug Melton, who started working on it in the late 90’s
after his first child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. But it was a team effort,
with around 100 postdocs and students involved in the research over the years.
They finally made a breakthrough in 2014, after spending an estimated $50 million on the research.
Once they began successfully reproducing the cells, Dr. Melton created a company called Semma
Therapeutics to turn it into actual treatment. Vertex Pharma became interested in the treatment
and bought the company for $950 million in 2019. In 2021, Vertex received approval from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration to conduct human trials using this treatment. In the first trial,
patients will be given a one-time infusion of cells from the therapy named VX-880.
They will also be given immunosuppression drugs to make sure the body does not kill the new cells.
The first patient was Brian Shelton. His blood sugar levels dropped from 200 before
the trial to 146. While that’s still high compared to people who don’t have diabetes,
the patient no longer needs to constantly worry about their blood sugar levels.
The patient had previously been suffering hypoglycemic episodes. He would lose
consciousness on a regular basis. But since the treatment, that hasn’t been an issue.
The reason it’s been exciting to see this result is that he was the very
first patient to be given this treatment. Also, the dosage was half of what had been planned.
This was to make sure it was safe for the patient.
There are 17 people lined up to get the treatment over the next few years. The second patient in the
trial has been given the treatment and the company plans to publish the results soon.
If the results are anywhere as good as the first patient, then it would be a major breakthrough for
diabetes patients. (Pause)
Until more research is done to find a cure, you can learn more about foods to eat to
help manage diabetes. Or, maybe how to snack healthier. Let’s keep the conversation going
with a couple more diabetes-related videos, shall we? Here’s what you need to know…
Check out the 6 Best and 6 Worst Vegetables For Diabetics. You should also try 18 Healthy
Snacks To Eat If You Are A Diabetic. Go ahead, click one. Or better yet,
watch both, and learn more about diabetes and nutrition. Did you know about any of this
research before watching this video? Let us know in the comments below!