Advancements in Type II Diabetes 1
Running Head: Advancements in Type II Diabetes
New Technologies and Advancements in Type II Diabetes
(Your Name Goes Here)
Great Neck South High School
Advancements in Type II Diabetes 2
New Technologies and Advancements in Type II Diabetes
"Diabetes is like being expected to play the piano with one hand while juggling items with
another hand, all while balancing with deftness and dexterity on a tightrope (Less, 2005).
Diabetes in general affects more than 7% of the population in the United States (NDIC,
2005), and 95 % of these individuals has type II diabetes. Amazingly, almost one third of
affected individuals are unaware that they have diabetes. It is currently the third leading
cause of death in the U.S, and takes the life of more than 72,000 people a year.
Normally, insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells and is necessary for the
body to be able to use glucose for energy. Insulin is a protein that is secreted by cells in the
pancreas when blood sugar is high. It binds to liver and muscle cells; instructing them to
absorb sugar from the blood to lower the glucose level. However, a person with type II
diabetes does not make enough insulin or the insulin is simply ignored by the cells. This
throws off the regulation of glucose in the body and can cause the blood sugar to remain high
for long periods of time resulting in hyperglycemia. Some complications associated with
hyperglycemia include eye damage, kidney damage, nervous system abnormalities, heart
disease, stroke, and ketoacidosis, or ketone poisoning, which can result in coma (Diabetes,
1999). People with type II diabetes can regulate their diabetes with exercise and proper diet
(Goode, 2007). However, there are also times when the complications progress in spite of
“good control”.
Over the past five years, there have been great leaps forward toward both
understanding the underlying causes of diabetes and developing a practical treatment, which
include oral medications that can be used to stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin
(Diabetes, 1998). However, even newer treatments are now available including exenatide
Advancements in Type II Diabetes 3
therapy, and Metabolic Activation Therapy (MAT). Exenatide is currently the only
commercially available drug that mimics a homone called incretin (Lee, 2007), which
increases the amount of insulin released from the pancreas after eating. Therefore, it
enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (New Advancements, 2007). In studies done
by the European Union in November 2006, individuals with type II diabetes who were
unable to control their glucose levels with the usual medication received 5 to 10 μg of
exenatide twice daily for 30 weeks. Researchers observed an improvement in glycemic
control, followed by a reduction of body weight as compared to individuals not receiving the
drug (Lee, 2007). Additional studies have shown that exenatide increases the β-cell mass by a
significant amount, which are the insulin producing cells (Frias, 2007). This means that there
is a B-cell mass increase and more insulin being produced as a result.
Another treatment that has become increasingly well known is metabolic activation
therapy (MAT), which consists of a once-a-week session of intravenous insulin therapy,
injected in a pulsatile fashion, which delivers a higher concentration to the liver compared to
an ordinary injection. The high concentration stimulates the liver cells to synthesize
glucokinase and other insulin-dependent enzymes necessary for normal glucose processing,
which in turn lowers blood sugar levels. Such injections over the course of months have been
shown to bring hepatic glucose metabolism to a more normal pattern, which can be
maintained by weekly MAT sessions. In addition, it allows the skeletal muscle, skin and
other organs to function more normally and even to repair damage. It should be recognized
that MAT is an additional therapy, and not a replacement for intensive insulin therapy.
Advancements in Type II Diabetes 4
All these advancements have greatly improved the lifestyles of people who suffer
daily from type II diabetes. Unfortunately, there is still no concrete cure found. However,
these procedures represent a new way in controlling this disease. In the future, these
techniques may be improved to further improve the lifestyle of diabetics. New techniques are
emerging as well, and may be the long awaited answer to the permanent controlling of this
disease.
Advancements in Type II Diabetes 5
References
American Diabetes Services. (2007). New Advancements in Diabetes Treatment and
Technologies. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from
http://www.americandiabetes.com/press_021605.html.
Diabetes. (1998). In McGraw-hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (Vol. 5, p. 200203). New York: McGraw-hill.
Diabetes. (1999). In Science Desk Reference (Vol. 2, p. 514-16). New York: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
Frias, J. P., & Edelman, S. V. (2007). Incretins and their Role in the Management of
Diabetes. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity, 14, 269-276.
Goode, J. R. (2007). New Advances in the Treatment of Diabetes. Retrieved October 3,
2007, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/418589.
Lee, W., & Wang, W. (2007). Effect of Laparoscopic Mini-Gastric Bypass for Type 2
Diabetes Mellitus: Comparison of BMI >35 and <35 kg/m2. J Gastrointest Surg., (IN
PRESS).
Metabolic Industries. (2005). Metabolic Activation Therapy – MAT. Retrieved
November 8, 2007, from http://www.metabolicactivationtherapy.com/mat.htm.
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC). (2005). National Diabetes
Statistics. Retrieved November 1, 2007, from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm
/pubs/statistics/#7.
Poulsen, T. M. (1998). Recent Advances: Diabetes. BMJ, 316, 1221-1225.
Advancements in Type II Diabetes 6
The Diabetes Monitor. (2007). Byetta is an injectable product for the treatment for type 2
diabetes. Retrieved December 21, 2007, from
http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/byetta. htm.