From shock to awe: a zap in the gut could be the new insulin for people with diabetes

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A recent study presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2023 explores a new treatment, called “Re-cellularization via Electroporation Therapy” (ReCET), which could potentially help type 2 diabetes patients stop taking insulin.

Over 37 million people in the United States are living with diabetes, with a significant number of them battling type 2 diabetes.

This type of diabetes usually affects older individuals, but an increasing number of young people are being diagnosed with the condition.

Exploring the ReCET Treatment

People with type 2 diabetes typically require medication to lower their blood sugar levels, with some needing to inject insulin daily. The newly explored ReCET treatment offers a different approach.

ReCET uses controlled electrical pulses to alter the lining of the small intestine. The procedure is carried out using an endoscope, which is inserted into the patient’s mouth and down the throat to visualize the small intestine.

The trial included 14 participants with type 2 diabetes. Following the ReCET treatment, patients were placed on a special diet for two weeks before starting on a diabetes medicine called semaglutide.

This medication can help some individuals stop taking insulin, but it does not work for everyone.

Promising Outcomes

The results from the study were promising, with most patients able to cease insulin injections while maintaining control over their blood sugar levels.

Doctors believe that ReCET works by improving the body’s insulin response, as insulin is crucial in the body’s use of sugar for energy.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t utilize insulin correctly, necessitating medication. However, ReCET could help the body start using insulin efficiently, thus reducing the need for medication.

Hope for the Future

This treatment holds great potential as it might offer a one-time solution that provides long-lasting benefits for individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Further studies will be conducted to confirm the safety and efficacy of ReCET, but if successful, it could be a significant breakthrough for diabetes management, possibly enabling patients to stop insulin injections and better control their blood sugar levels without daily medication.

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

The prevention of type 2 diabetes involves making healthy lifestyle choices, such as maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and attending regular health check-ups.

These actions can help reduce the risk of developing this condition.

For individuals interested in diabetes, other studies suggest that the MIND diet may reduce the risk of vision loss disease, and that a new therapy for type 2 diabetes remains effective two years later.

Recent studies have also shown that Vitamin E could help reduce blood sugar and insulin resistance in diabetes and that the diabetes drug metformin may slow cognitive decline.

The study was presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2023.

If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and what you need to know about avocado and type 2 diabetes.

For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about How to eat to prevent type 2 diabetes and 5 vitamins that may prevent complications in diabetes.

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