StemCell Therapy

When you want a holistic approach to health care that incorporates complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) techniques with conventional medicine, choose UNC Medical Center. We bring together research, knowledge and practice, so you can count on finding safe, effective integrative medicine options to help you feel your best.

Take advantage of a wide range of prevention, wellness and treatment services, including:

Your doctor can help you decide which techniques are best for you.

You may benefit from incorporating complementary and alternative medicine into your treatment plan if you experience:

When daily stresses challenge your ability to cope, ease any resulting physical and emotional discomforts with mindfulness techniques. In our mindfulness-based stress- and pain-management programs, youll learn how to recognize the warning signs of stress reactions and relax in ways that enhance your bodys natural adaptive and healing abilities. Mindfulness techniques have been shown to deliver lasting benefits for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), heart disease, migraine headaches, anxiety, depression and some autoimmune diseases.

Find a mindfulness program to meet your needs at UNC Medical Center.

Options include:

To register, call our Mindfulness Program at the Program on Integrative Medicine at 919-966-8586 or go to our website.

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Integrative Medicine | UNC Medical Center | Chapel Hill, NC

Arecent studyis providing new supportfor an old adage: "death is only the beginning." According to the research, some cells in the body fight to live long after the organism dies.

In some cases, cell activity actually increases following death. The research suggests that the death of a living organism is a multi-step process that continues long after the final heartbeat;findings from this research could have implications foreverything from cancer research to life extension.

The study, now published online in the journal Open Biology, revealed just how many cells remain alive and thriving after an organisms death. For example, stem cells in particular were found to be most active after death, fighting to stay alive and attempting to repair themselves for days, and in some cases weeks, after death. In addition, a process known as gene transcription, that Seeker explained as a cellular behavior associated with stress, immunity, inflammation,and cancer, also increased following death. Although the research was conducted on zebrafish and mice, they believe the same cellular activity could be observed in all living creatures.

Read: 'How Long Will I Live?' Your Lifespan Depends On Cellular Death And Progress Of Future Science

Not all cells are 'dead' when an organism dies," senior author Peter Noble told Seeker. "Different cell types have different life spans, generation times and resilience to extreme stress."

In the "Twilight of Death," many cells continue to live and thrive once the body has technically died. Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

The fascinating discovery has been dubbed the Twilight of Death, and refers to the time period between death and decomposition where not all of the bodys cells are yet dead. The study researchers noted that their findings suggest death is more like a slow shutdown process and not the simple off-switch many imagine it to be. Whats more, better understanding of what happens when the body dies could lead to medical interventions aimed at delaying this process.

Not only does this researchhelp us better understand how a body dies, (and perhaps how to delaythis process), but it could also have real-life implications for organ transplant. Past research has suggested that patients have increased chances of developing cancer after they receive an organ transplant. For example, a 2011 study from the National Institutes of Health, found that U.S. organ transplant recipients had a high risk for develop 32 different types of cancer. The highest risks being non-Hodgkin lymphoma (14.1 percent of all cancers in transplant recipients), lung cancer (12.6 percent), liver cancer (8.7 percent), and kidney cancer (7.1 percent).

Although the reason for this remains unclear, the new study suggests it may be connected to the increased cellular activity observed in this Twilight of Death. Whats more, Noble suggested that there may even be something we can do about this, and proposed that prescreening transplant organs for increased cancer gene transcripts could help lower this risk.

Source: Pozhitkov AE, Neme R, Domazet-Loo T, et al. Tracing the dynamics of gene transcripts after organismal death. Open Biology. 2017

See Also:

Legal Definition Of 'Death' May Not Be Enough To Pinpoint When We Medically Kick The Bucket

The Evolutionary Reason Humans Die Despite The Inclination To Survive

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Life After Death, According To Science: Cells Fight To ...

What is arthritis?

Arthritis simply means a painful condition of the joints.

There are different types of the disease many inflammatory, for example rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and others more degenerative in nature, for example osteoarthritis (OA).

Arthritis may be preceded or accompanied by a period of fatigue and a feeling of stiffness. This appears more in rheumatoid arthritis than in osteoarthritis.

Pain in the joints in rheumatoid arthritis almost always begins in the hands, especially in the knuckles, and often in both hands simultaneously, as one of the commonest types of inflammatory arthritis.

Arthritis can affect all joints in the body, and it's impossible to predict which or how many joints will be attacked.

We do not know the cause of arthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis, the theory that it's triggered by an infection has never been proved. It may be partly hereditary, and it occurs three times as often in women as in men.

All age groups can develop arthritis even children but usually rheumatoid arthritis appears between the ages of 30 and 35.

The disease is unpredictable and the treatment difficult. But there are several medical remedies that can both ease the pain and slow down the spread of the disease and the damage it causes.

Some doctors may recommend a diet, but there's no evidence that dietary changes alone can ease or stop the development of arthritis.

Simple painkillers can help. When used with caution, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can provide relief from pain, as well as stiffness. These are prescribed more often in rheumatoid arthritis than in osteoarthritis.

Overweight patients should aim to reduce weight with appropriate diet and exercise.

It's important for patients with arthritis to obtain help to keep the muscles and joints active and to be supported in leading a normal life.

Physiotherapists, who are trained to maintain a patient's physical ability and relieve pain, and occupational therapists, who assess physical ability and provide help and advice including aids, play a large part in making life bearable for arthritis sufferers.

During recent years, there has been great progress in the treatment of arthritis particularly with the use of artificial joints. Some people still have to live with the discomfort of the disease because not all joints can be replaced surgically.

Research has suggested that the natural treatment glucosamine sulphate, taken at a daily dose of 1500mg, is effective in relieving arthritis symptoms particularly of the knee joints in patients with osteoarthritis rather than rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients benefit from disease modifying drugs, such as sulphasalazine and methotrexate, or even the latest biologic treatments in those who fail with routine drugs (anti-TNF drugs and others (rituximab).

Based on a text by Dr Erik Fangel Poulsen, specialist, Dr Per Grinsted, GP

Last updated 27.07.2010

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Arthritis: Symptoms, treatment and causes

Many people confuse osteoporosis and some types of arthritis. This fact sheet discusses the similarities and differences between these conditions.

Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become less dense and more likely to fracture. In the United States, more than 53 million people either already have osteoporosis or are at high risk due to low bone mass. In osteoporosis, there is a loss of bone tissue that leaves bones less dense and more likely to fracture. It can result in a loss of height, severe back pain, and change in ones posture. Osteoporosis can impair a persons ability to walk and can cause prolonged or permanent disability.

Risk factors for developing osteoporosis include:

Osteoporosis is known as a silent disease because it can progress undetected for many years without symptoms until a fracture occurs. Osteoporosis is diagnosed by a bone mineral density test, which is a safe and painless way to detect low bone density.

Although there is no cure for the disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved several medications to prevent and treat osteoporosis. In addition, a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, regular weight-bearing exercise, and a healthy lifestyle can prevent or lessen the effects of the disease.

Arthritis is a general term for conditions that affect the joints and surrounding tissues. Joints are places in the body where bones come together, such as the knees, wrists, fingers, toes, and hips. Two common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Although osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are two very different medical conditions with little in common, the similarity of their names causes great confusion. These conditions develop differently, have different symptoms, are diagnosed differently, and are treated differently.

Osteoporosis and arthritis do share many coping strategies. With either or both of these conditions, many people benefit from exercise programs that may include physical therapy and rehabilitation. In general, exercises that emphasize stretching, strengthening, posture, and range of motion are appropriate. Examples include low-impact aerobics, swimming, tai chi, and low-stress yoga. However, people with osteoporosis must take care to avoid activities that include bending forward from the waist, twisting the spine, or lifting heavy weights. People with arthritis must compensate for limited movement in affected joints. Always check with your doctor to determine whether a certain exercise or exercise program is safe for your specific medical situation.

Most people with arthritis will use pain management strategies at some time. This is not always true for people with osteoporosis. Usually, people with osteoporosis need pain relief when they are recovering from a fracture. In cases of severe osteoporosis with multiple spine fractures, pain control also may become part of daily life. Regardless of the cause, pain management strategies are similar for people with osteoporosis, OA, and RA.

For updates and for any questions about any medications you are taking, please contact

U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationToll Free: 888-INFO-FDA (888-463-6332)Website: https://www.fda.gov

For additional information on specific medications, visit Drugs@FDA at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf. Drugs@FDA is a searchable catalog of FDA-approved drug products.

NIH Pub. No. 18-7893

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Osteoporosis and Arthritis: Two Common but Different ...

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Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Dec 29, 2017.

Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside your body's cells in an effort to treat or stop disease.

Genes contain your DNA the code that controls much of your body's form and function, from making you grow taller to regulating your body systems. Genes that don't work properly can cause disease.

Gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or adds a new gene in an attempt to cure disease or improve your body's ability to fight disease. Gene therapy holds promise for treating a wide range of diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, diabetes, hemophilia and AIDS.

Researchers are still studying how and when to use gene therapy. Currently, in the United States, gene therapy is available only as part of a clinical trial.

Gene therapy is used to correct defective genes in order to cure a disease or help your body better fight disease.

Researchers are investigating several ways to do this, including:

Gene therapy has some potential risks. A gene can't easily be inserted directly into your cells. Rather, it usually has to be delivered using a carrier, called a vector.

The most common gene therapy vectors are viruses because they can recognize certain cells and carry genetic material into the cells' genes. Researchers remove the original disease-causing genes from the viruses, replacing them with the genes needed to stop disease.

This technique presents the following risks:

The gene therapy clinical trials underway in the U.S. are closely monitored by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health to ensure that patient safety issues are a top priority during research.

Currently, the only way for you to receive gene therapy is to participate in a clinical trial. Clinical trials are research studies that help doctors determine whether a gene therapy approach is safe for people. They also help doctors understand the effects of gene therapy on the body.

Your specific procedure will depend on the disease you have and the type of gene therapy being used.

For example, in one type of gene therapy:

Viruses aren't the only vectors that can be used to carry altered genes into your body's cells. Other vectors being studied in clinical trials include:

The possibilities of gene therapy hold much promise. Clinical trials of gene therapy in people have shown some success in treating certain diseases, such as:

But several significant barriers stand in the way of gene therapy becoming a reliable form of treatment, including:

Gene therapy continues to be a very important and active area of research aimed at developing new, effective treatments for a variety of diseases.

1998-2019 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. Terms of use

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Gene therapy - Drugs.com

Are Stem Cells Good or Bad?

Do you know what a stem cell is? Stems cells are the undifferentiated biological cells, which have the potential to develop into different types of cells with specialized functions. They also help to repair the damaged cells in our body. These cells also have the ability to renew themselves via cell division even after remaining inactive for a long period of time. Due to their regenerative properties, stem cells are nowadays being experimented to treat the various diseases.

Though these cells are present in all our bodies, they function more effectively in a fetus. Hence, there are two types of stem cells adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Bone marrow transplantation is the only stem cell therapy, which is being used widely today. The use of stem cells for treatments and other experiments have always been the topics of controversy. Like all the medicines and treatments, the stem cell therapy also will cause both positive and negative effects on our body. Some of them are mentioned below:

There are many people who consider the treatments using the stem cells as unethical. The government authorities also do not extend a wide support to these experiments. The various states in the US have even banned the research activities of the embryonic stem cells. The destruction of the blastocytes which happen during the stem cell research is also considered to be immoral by many people.

Moreover, most of the treatments and research on the stem cell therapies are based on theories. Though more than 3500 research studies are happening on the stem cells and the treatments using them, there are no proven results on them. Some of the stem cells, even use immunosuppressant on patients before doing the transplantation in order to prevent the chances of rejection of these cells by the body. This can cause various harmful side effects on the patients after the treatment.

Though the stem cells provide solutions to a wide number of diseases, the therapies done using them cannot be trusted completely. As it remains unproven, it has to be decided by the people, if they want to subject their lives to such experiments with no certain outcomes.

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Positive and negative Impacts of Stem Cells - Essay and ...

Here are the three possibilities: 1. Multiplying with -1 2. Formatting to minus(-) sign3. ABS() Function

Method 1: Multiplying with -11. Enter the numbers as usual, after finishing all entries, do the following:2. Go to any other empty cell, and type -1 and copy it, now select the entire column you want to make negative.3. Right-click on the selection and select Paste Special..4. Choose All and Multiply and click OK, as shown in the picture below: Now all the selected cells will be negative. Now delete the cell value-1 you copied from.

1. Select the entire column you want it to be negative, by clicking on the column header.2. MAC users Hold down Command key and click in any cell(with selection), WINDOWS users right-click, then click Format cells in the context menu.3. Click Number tab, click Custom Option, on right-hand side, under Type text box select General, and in the Type text box, enter a minus sign like this: -General and click OK.

Note: Positive values will be from D1 to D50 and Negative values will be from E1 to E50 as the above example is concerned

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How to automatically make all entered numbers in a row ...

If you read chapter one and two of this Me Time thought line then hopefully this will put a cherry on that chocolate sundae. I met this morning with a fun group to discuss the use of meditation as a tool for stress relief. In fact, we were diving much deeper into how meditation can be used to rewrite your future experience. Creating your future through your thoughts and feelings rather than playing victim to whatever your repeated past patters will predictably produce for you. We reviewed some of the work presented by Dr. Joe Dispenza who is fond of saying that our stress hormones cause us to look at our present environment with fear and trepidation turning us toward survival mode and becoming selfish. Its all about being self-centered, self-important, self-involved as we look to protect the ME.

The facade I present to the world is not really me. The real me, the guy who walks around in his underwear, unshaven

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Integrative Medicine Cincinnati | Huber Personalized Medicine

Kidney disease treatment is no longer limited to conventional medicine, dialysis, or surgery. Alternative treatments are also available to treat some types of kidney disease and to manage its symptoms. Alternative treatments enhance standard kidney disease treatment. They do not replace conventional therapies, rather they complement them. Here are 7 alternative kidney disease treatment options worth looking into:

Note: Make sure to consult with a doctor before taking herbal medicine. Notall herbs may be beneficial for patients with renal disease.

Note: Consult a doctor before taking any supplements to ensure safety.

Learn more about alternative kidney disease treatment with this video by HealthP1:

These are just some of the alternative kidney disease treatments for patients with chronic renal illness. Again, it is important to note that these treatments complement standard or conventional therapies such as dialysis and surgery. Consult with a doctor before starting a particular alternative treatment to ensure safe and effective results.

What are your thoughts on alternative kidney disease treatment? Share with us your ideas in the comments section below!

Up Next:How To Find A Kidney Donor: Dads Plea Went Viral On A Disney Trip

7 Alternative Kidney Disease Treatments | Stem Cell Research

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7 Alternative Kidney Disease Treatments | Stem Cell Research

Dr. Pierre Guibor has been my trusted ophthalmologist for many years; gosh, I think it has been around 20 years, now. He used to have his office in Manhattan, just off Park Ave. Now, his office is (& has been for a while) inside Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, in Secaucus, New Jersey, where he is Chief, Ophthalmology & Oculoplastic Surgeon.Years back, It was Dr. Guibor who showed me the unbelievably easy way to put drops in my eye. So simple ! No shock to the eye, no trauma, no drama. No tilting the head. Easy! Pain free. It is knowing & trusting the skill of Dr Guibor that keeps me calm when he explains that he is going to check the pressure in my eye. He has put a drop in each eye so that I won't feel the thing with the blue light that checks the pressure, but, I'm not blinking, since I'm not nervous, because I trust in his ability. Years ago, when Dr Guibor surgically removed an eyelid papilloma for me, in the hospital, I had total confidence in him. I was not worried about his surgical ability, that's for sure. Everything went well, I even went shopping briefly w/my friend afterwards. Having the big bandage over my eye was the most amazing shopping asset ever!! In the designer outlet shop, in Seacaucus , the shopping crowd, upon seeing my big bandage, parted, like the sea parted in the movie, "The Ten Commandments"....but, I digress, please forgive me. LOL I feel so very fortunate to know Dr. Guibor, and have him as my ophthalmologist because he is so very knowledgeable, with many years of experience. As important as experience and skill are, I strongly believe that it is equally important for a physician to treat patients with respect. From my own experience, as well as from my observations, I can tell you that he treats every patient with respect. He has taught many medical professionals & has taught in many locations around the world! So he knows a lot of eye specialists, which is to your benefit, as a patient. Think about it, let's say you were away on vacation, or business, & you needed an eye specialist , you could email or call Dr Guibor and ask if he could recommend someone. And chances are he just may know a skilled eye Dr where you happen to be. (And that's because Dr Guibor is one cool dude!...who happens to be a kind, talented, smart, eye surgeon.) He is a very cool person. I'm also so proud to let people know that he has taught his surgical skills to many medical professionals in countries where the opportunity to learn from such a well-respected eye surgeon is rare. I shall have to double check, but I think he has also been involved with Doctors Without Borders. The bottom line is, it is my personal, humble opinion, that you are in great, experienced, knowledgeable hands w/Dr. Pierre Guibor.And lastly, I am very particular when it comes to selecting a medical or dental professional. And that is an understatement. I take everything into consideration--how does the doctor speak to his/her staff...does he/she answer my questions, does he/she explain things, do I feel rushed, it all matters to me. I don't just want a good doctor, I want a good person, too! And I want a person who enjoys their work. In my opinion, when someone enjoys the work they do, they don't mind explaining things. Getting to Meadowlands Hospital by bus from Manhattan is easy . IT IS ONLY 20 MINUTES!! I take the NJ Transit bus #129, from The Port Authority Bus Terminal--the 2nd building, located on 41st Street (Not 42St). The building has Heartland Brewery on street level, see my photo. I enter at 8th Ave/West 41st Street, walk straight ahead, staying on the left side, and past Au Bon Pain, past the escalators & you'll see on your left the area, up a few steps, where you buy your bus ticket. I think my R/T tix today were $7. ALLOW ENOUGH EXTRA TIME FOR TIX & GETTING UPSTAIRS TO THE GATE WHERE BUS #129 will depart from. Today it was Gate 314. The ride is just 20 minutes to the front of the hospital. I ALWAYS TELL THE BUS DRIVER THAT I AM GOING TO MEADOWLANDS HOSPITAL WHEN I GET ON THE BUS. I do ring for the stop, too. THE BUS DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY STOP ANYWHERE. YOU MUST RING FOR YOUR STOP. So it's a good idea to mention to the bus driver as you board the bus that you are going to Meadowlands Hospital. And lastly, if you want to see Dr Guibor, you need to call & make an appointment. OFFICE: 201-392-3438When you have a good , thorough eye exam, you have peace of mind. Did you know that sometimes other medical situations can be detected by way of a thorough eye exam? If you have been putting off an eye exam, for way too long & you know it, well then, maybe there's a reason you happen to see this.

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Pierre Guibor, MD, PA - 25 Photos - Ophthalmologists - 55 ...

If you are suffering from osteoarthritic pain and are researching alternatives to joint replacement or for help in relieving continued pain after joint replacement you will come upon information comparing the use of bone marrow derived stem cells and adipose or fat derived stem cells in aiding your situation.

In my office I choose to use bone marrow-derived stem cells because I find that we can achieve both success in the patients expectations and the goals of the treatment of Stem Cell Therapy, which can be accomplished best and simply by harnessing bone marrow stem cells.

We do not use adipose (fat) stem cells since it is more traumatic for the patient. In addition to breaking up fat tissue with a long trocar, a thick needle has to be used for the injections. In short, adipose procedures are not liked by patients.

Bone Marrow Aspiration (harvesting the stem cells from bone marrow) takes about a minute once I locate the specific area to aspirate, is basically painless for most patients after a lidocaine injection, and can be injected with very small needle. In addition, when we use bone marrow, we are injecting both platelets (PRP) from the bone marrow and stem cells from the bone marrow, in essence two treatments instead of one.

As we discuss these techniques it is important to understand that medicine is a practice and an evolving one. Medicine is also a technology and the technology is ever advancing. Tomorrow Stem Cell Therapy may evolve into something altogether different and we may find new techniques that achieve the results we are looking for.

Researchers have evaluated the effectiveness of Stem Cell Therapy and tissue engineering for treating osteoarthritis. Both bone marrow and adipose-derived stem cells have the potential to provide a permanent biological solution.

One must be careful in analyzing studies.

One study I read suggests that there are more stem cells in adipose than bone marrow. But we are not sure that the number of cells is important, since stem cells divide logarithmically inside the body. And the following studies show that bone marrow stem cells are more effective than adipose stem cells.

A paper from 2016published by doctors at the Department of Orthopedics, Georgia Regents University compiled the following findings:

This clinical study from the Guilin Medical College in China, demonstrated bone-marrow-MSCs to have greater in vivo chondrogenic potential than periosteum, synovium, adipose, and muscle MSCs in this research from the Department of Orthopaedics, the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College, Guilin, China.6

In an editorial in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Associate Editor Merrick J. Wetzler, M.D., wrote: Harvesting of the ADSCs [fat stem cells] does require an additional procedure, and the cost-effectiveness of the procedure is still under investigation, but as researchers stated in their editorials in 2012 and 2013, We are believers in Stem Cell Therapy and Stem cells have substantial potential to allow 21st century physicians and surgeons to achieve unprecedented tissue healing and repair.

We do believe that it is only a matter of time before the harvesting and growth of stem cells will become cost-effective and commercially available and will be added to our treatment options for restoration of articular cartilage.

That is a good endorsement from surgeons however, as Dr. Wetzler noted, there is an added cost of the stem cell procedure using adipose (fat) stem cells, along with the more complex harvesting procedure involved in obtaining the fat cells.

Nevertheless, there is more research pending on the value of stem cells from bone marrow vs fat, and other doctors in the field have not concurred on the best modality. In time, studies will most likely provide the answer. And since the field is fairly new, much more exploration is required.

1 Shapiro SA, Kazmerchak SE, Heckman MG, Zubair AC, OConnor MI. A Prospective, Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate for Knee Osteoarthritis. Am J Sports Med. 2017 Jan;45(1):82-90. doi: 10.1177/0363546516662455. Epub 2016 Sep 30.

2: Jakobsen RB, Shahdadfar A, Reinholt FP, Brinchmann JE. Chondrogenesis in a hyaluronic acid scaffold: comparison between chondrocytes and MSC from bone marrow and adipose tissue. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2010 Oct;18(10):1407-16. doi: 10.1007/s00167-009-1017-4. Epub 2009 Dec 18. Erratum in:Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2014 Jul;22(7):1711-4.

3. Shafiee A, Seyedjafari E, Soleimani M, Ahmadbeigi N, Dinarvand P, Ghaemi N. A comparison between osteogenic differentiation of human unrestricted somatic stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow and adipose tissue. Biotechnol Lett. 2011 Jun;33(6):1257-64. doi: 10.1007/s10529-011-0541-8. Epub 2011 Feb 2.

4. Frisbie DD, Kisiday JD, Kawcak CE, Werpy NM, McIlwraith CW. Evaluation of adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction or bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of osteoarthritis. J Orthop Res. 2009 Dec;27(12):1675-80. doi: 10.1002/jor.20933. Colorado State University

5 Burke, J., Hunter, M., Kolhe, R., Isales, C., Hamrick, M., & Fulzele, S. (2016). Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cell based therapy for osteoarthritis.Clinical and Translational Medicine,5, 27. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40169-016-0112-7

6. Li Q, Tang J, Wang R, Bei C, Xin L, Zeng Y, Tang X. Comparing the chondrogenic potential in vivo of autogeneic mesenchymal stem cells derived from different tissues. Artif Cells Blood Substit Immobil Biotechnol. 2011 Feb;39(1):31-8. doi: 10.3109/10731191003776769. Epub 2010 Nov 30. PubMed PMID: 21117872. Guillen China

7 Niemeyer P, Fechner K, Milz S, Richter W, Suedkamp NP, Mehlhorn AT, Pearce S, Kasten P. Comparison of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow and adipose tissue for bone regeneration in a critical size defect of the sheep tibia and the influence of platelet-rich plasma. Biomaterials. 2010 May;31(13):3572-9.

8 Vidal MA, Robinson SO, Lopez MJ, Paulsen DB, Borkhsenious O, Johnson JR, Moore RM, Gimble JM. Comparison of chondrogenic potential in equine mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose tissue and bone marrow. Vet Surg. 2008 Dec;37(8):713-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-950X.2008.00462.x. PubMed PMID: 19121166;PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2746327.

9 Chang YH, Liu HW, Wu KC, Ding DC. Mesenchymal stem cells and their clinical applications in osteoarthritis. Cell Transplant. 2015 Dec 18. [Epub ahead of print.]

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Fat stem cells or bone marrow stem cells? - Dr. Marc ...

We go through life day by day, each with our own set schedules and habits. When things go wrong, we get into accidents, or we fall ill, we rely on trusted doctors and health care professionals to help us recover.

Thats how much of health care works responsive action taken to treat a sickness or disease already underway.

But what if we could avoid getting sick in the first place? Thats what preventive medicine is all about. Most areas of medicine narrowly focus on a single age group, ailment, or body part. But preventive medicine does not have these boundaries, making it a very broad field.

But what is preventive medicine? And why is it so important? Keep reading to learn more about the field of preventive medicine and why its reach spans not just individual patients, but scores of communities and populations.

Preventive medicine is exactly what it sounds like it aims to prevent sickness before it happens.

The ideology behind preventive medicine focuses on protecting, promoting, and maintaining health and well-being. It also aims to avert disease, disability, and death on an individual basis, as well as on a large scale in communities and populations.

Preventive medicine is promoted by all physicians, though some choose to specialize in it. Physicians in this specialty use biostatistics and epidemiology, as well as a mix of medical, social, economic, and behavioral sciences. They may evaluate health services or manage health care organizations. They also study the cause of disease and injury within specific population segments.

Preventive medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that focuses on the whole patient and the many factors influencing their health. It holds a broad scope, encompassing elements of socioeconomics, the role of legislation, health equity, and the disparities found in communities and certain populations.

Chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, account for seven out of ten deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is why screening and detection have become so critical. Healthy habits are just as critical, including eating well, exercising, and avoiding tobacco use. These help individuals stay healthy, avoid disease, or minimize the effects of disease.

The CDC lists the five leading causes of death in the US as heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, and unintentional injuries. This makes preventive medicine all the more important in avoiding premature death.

Practicing preventive medicine can also lower costs, as 75 percent of annual health spending goes toward chronic and largely preventable diseases in the US, according to the CDC. Preventive medicine also fights the productivity drain associated with chronic illness.

Preventive medicine can be practiced in both the clinic setting and outside of it. Clinical preventive medicine physicians see patients. They may provide counseling for unhealthy habits, run preventive health screenings and administer immunizations. They may work with patients who would benefit from lifestyle changes and often encounter common cases such as diabetes, smoking, or obesity.

Non-clinical preventive medicine physicians dont work closely with individual patients. This branch of medicine includes health policy, epidemiology, and an increased focus on the social and behavioral influences on a persons health. However, the work of many preventive medicine physicians spans both the clinical and non-clinical branches of the field.

Additionally, the field of preventive medicine also offers several focused subspecialties, including the following:

Aerospace medicine pertains to the health and safety of persons within air and space vehicles. The passengers and workers aboard these contraptions face their share of environmental hazards, as well as physical and psychological stressors.

Physicians in aerospace medicine work to promote the health, safety, and wellness of individuals working or travelling in air and space environments. They work to prevent injury from many environmental factors, including microgravity, radiation exposure, G-forces, emergency ejection injuries, and hypoxic conditions.

Occupational medicine seeks to prevent injury, disability, and death in workers. Physicians specializing in occupational medicine examine the physical, chemical, biological, and social environments of the workplace and their impact on the health of employees. They help employers identify health and safety risks to employees and work to cut down on occupational hazards that could result in injury or death. They may also make policy recommendations to promote safe work environments, diagnose occupational diseases and injuries, and research work-related health issues.

The public health medical specialty promotes health and well-being on a larger scale. These physicians work with communities and certain segments of the population, combining prevention-based clinical knowledge with population-based public health.

Public health physicians analyze data on public health problems and research the causes behind them. They also develop strategies to tackle health issues in the public, which can lead to new programs promoting overall health and preventing the spread of disease. Public health physicians also consult with other officials in the field to develop legislation benefitting the health of entire communities.

Now you know about what preventive medicine is and how doctors incorporate it into their practice or specialize in it altogether. This is an important field of medicine that not only helps patients and populations thwart illness, but also helps keeps health costs down.

As mentioned above, all doctors incorporate some degree of preventive medicine into their practice. But primary care physicians have an especially good opportunity to help their patients stay healthy and avoid falling ill. Learn more about the important role these doctors play in our article, What Does a Primary Care Physician Do? Exploring This High-Demand Medical Career.

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What Is Preventive Medicine? A Look at Proactive Providers

Stem Cell Therapy for Neuropathy

Neuropathy is a condition characterized by pain of the limbs, such as arms, hands, feet, and/or legs. Neuropathic (nerve-related) pain is initiated/caused by dysfunction of the nervous system. Most common symptoms of neuropathy include extreme sensitivity and dramatic response to pain. A new, innovative treatment for neuropathy is stem cell therapy.

Neuropathy and nerve-related pain reduces human well-being and is difficult to manage. Around 100 million people in the United States report chronic pain. The use of stem cells has proven to be effective at lessening the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy and peripheral nerve pain. Clinical evidence shows that stem cell therapy provides the best results and could decrease the use of pain medication.

How do stem cells work to treat neuropathic pain?

Stem cell therapy shows great promise for regenerative medicine in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy. Stem cells help slow the disease progression. In rat subjects, bone marrow-derived stem cells have shown promise in treating neurodegenerative disease, which proves neuroprotective when given intravenously (IV). Stem cell implantation has also been shown to work in the repair of axon regeneration and synapse reformation, which are structures of the nerve cell.

Do stem cells help treat pain?

Stem cell differentiation is thought to be the key to pain control. Serotonergic neural precursor cell grafts reduce hyperexcitability caused by pain. Neuropathic pain causes a decrease in the activity and number of neurons called GABA. The stem cells express anti-nociceptive molecules and/or trophic factors that have been found to relieve neuropathic pain. In addition, stem cells are used as pumps to deliver anti-nociceptive molecules close to the pain processing sites of nerve damage.

Which cells are most used in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy?

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are showing the most promise in pain care research. These cells are a group of progenitor cells of mesodermal origin, which are found in adult bone marrow. These cells give rise to skeletal muscle cells, fat, blood, and connective tissues. MSCs also have a stable phenotype and are easily transported from the laboratory to physician office. These cells also migrate to the site of nerve damage and have good immunosuppressive properties.

Do clinical studies support the use of stem cells for peripheral neuropathy?

In a recent study in The Journal of Pain Research, researchers used stem cells for neuropathy relief successfully. They found that the treatment produced 60% relief at a six month time point. Because neuropathic pain impacts quality of life, it can be quite costly to the healthcare system. Researchers are continuing to study this problem.

Tulane University Center for Stem Cell Research conducted many studies using MSCs. They found these cells were effective and safe for treating inflammatory disease, such as peripheral neuropathy. The cells were found to optimize their anti-inflammatory effects. In mice subjects, researchers noted a 40% improvement rate.

What results can I expect with stem cell therapy for neuropathy?

Response to stem cell therapy usually starts within a few weeks to months. Patients often report effectiveness within 3-6 months. Patients with peripheral neuropathy respond over 60% of the time, according to studies. A second treatment may become necessary depending on the individual and therapy also involves several additional modalities such as light therapy and nutritional optimization.

Resources

Siniscalco D, Rossi F, & Maione S (2007). tem cell therapy for neuropathic pain treatment. J Stem Cells Regen Md, 3(1), 2-11.

A preliminary report on stem cell therapy for neuropathic pain in humans, Vickers et al,J Pain Res. 2014; 7: 255263.

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Stem Cell Therapy For Neuropathy | Stem Cell Therapy

Hi @jlsoerensOne of the focus areas on Mayo Clinic's Regenerative Medicine Program is in neuroregeneration. You can read more here: https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/focus-areas/neuroregeneration Scroll down the page and you can read clinical research being done specifically for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair.

Unfortunately, because of the complexity of the brain and spinal cord, little spontaneous regeneration, repair or healing occurs. Therefore, brain damage, paralysis from spinal cord injury and peripheral nerve damage are often permanent and incapacitating.

To learn more, you may wish to contact Mayo Clinics Regenerative Medicine free Consult Service. If you call them, you will talk to a live person who will provide more information, research, and advice on seeking stem cell therapy from reputable providers, even if that provider is not Mayo Clinic. Their primary goal is to educate and help you find effective treatment. Furthermore, you can add your name to a database to be notified when additional studies and information become available. Heres more information about the stem cell Consult Service http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/patient-care/clinical-services/regenerative-medicine-consult-service. Or simply call 1-844-276-2003 to speak with one of our experts.

I also feel it important to add it is so important to do your homework and due diligence when researching new treatment options. Stem cells offer a lot of hope. But where these is hope, there is hype and charlatans. FDA acts to remove unproven, potentially harmful treatment used in stem cell centers targeting vulnerable patients https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm573427.htm

You can read more about stem cells on the FDAs website here: https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm194655.htm

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Stem Cell Therapy for Neuropathy | Mayo Clinic Connect

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the body's inability to regulate the level of glucose in the blood. Glucose is the main form of sugar in the body. The body breaks down food into glucose and uses it as a source of energy. In healthy people insulin helps to regulate the glucose (sugar) levels. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas (a long, thin organ located behind the stomach against the back).

In diabetics, the body does not produce enough insulin or does not use the produced insulin effectively. This results in a high level of glucose in the blood ("hyperglycaemia").

There are three main types of diabetes mellitus:

a) Type 1, earlier known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus. People with this type of diabetes make little or no insulin in their body, and need regular insulin injections for survival and management of diabetes. It usually starts in childhood, but can occur at any age. This ususally happen before age of 40.

b) Type 2 (DM2), earlier known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. This is the most common form of diabetes, and is strongly associated with genetic tendency and obesity. The body produces normal or even high levels of insulin, but certain factors make its utilization ineffective ("insulin resistance"). Sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy dietary patterns, and the consequent obesity are common causes. It usually starts in adulthood, but is beginning to be seen in obese adolescents also.

c) Gestational diabetes mellitus, or pregnancy-induced diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is raised blood glucose levels during pregnancy. It develops in 5 % of all pregnancies but usually disappears when a pregnancy is over. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk (up to 40%) for later developing type 2 diabetes

Symptoms depend on the type and duration of diabetes. Some of the signs and symptoms are related to the high blood sugar levels.

These include: Increased urination, Increased thirst, Hunger

Other common symptoms:

There may be weight loss, especially if the amount of insulin made by the body is decreasing. If insulin deficiency is marked, the person can become drowsy and then go into coma. This is called Ketoacidosis, and usually occurs in DM1. Rarely, if the diabetes is completely out of control, it can also occur in DM2. Other symptoms of ketoacidosis include: Deep rapid breathing, sometimes with a fruity odour to the breath Pain in the stomach, with nausea and vomiting.

Diabetes mellitus is diagnosed based on a high level of glucose or sugar in the blood. The doctor may suspect diabetes mellitus after taking the medical history and doing a physical examination. There are several blood sugar tests used for diagnosis:

Fasting plasma glucose test: In this test, a person is asked to fast overnight, at least 8 hours, and the level of glucose in the blood is then checked. Normal fasting plasma glucose levels are less than 110 mg/dl. A fasting plasma glucose level of more than 126 mg/dl usually indicates diabetes mellitus. A level of 110-125 mg/dl is called "impaired fasting glucose".

Post prandial (PP) plasma glucose: This is tested two hours after having a meal, which serves as a challenge for the body to regulate the blood sugar. Normal PP levels are <140 mg/dl; a glucose level of more than 200 mg/dl indicates diabetes mellitus, while a level between 140-199 mg/ dl is called "impaired glucose tolerance".

Random plasma glucose test: is that which is done at any other time. A level of 200 mg/dl or higher generally indicates the presence of diabetes.

Oral glucose challenge test (oGTT): The blood glucose is tested 2 hours after giving 75 gm glucose by mouth. This is useful for detecting borderline diabetes and a condition called "impaired glucose tolerance".

Oral glucose tolerance test: is the preferred way to diagnose pregnancy-induced diabetes. Ideally all pregnant women in India should have a blood glucose test done 30 minutes after taking 50 gm gluocse (screening test). If this is abnormal, the lady should undergo an oGTT: with 100 gm glucose (not the conventional 75 gm). Blood samples are then drawn at intervals of one hour upto 3 hours (ie at 1, 2 and 3 hours post-glucose).

Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can be controlled very successfully. The main aim of treatment of all types of diabetes is to achieve blood glucose control, blood pressure and cholesterol levels as near to normal as possible. This, together with a healthy lifestyle, will help to improve wellbeing and protect against long-term complications.

Stay Active

Being active is good for all of us but is especially important for people with diabetes. Physical activity, combined with healthy eating and medication that you may taking will help you to manage your diabetes and prevent long term complications. If you have concerns at all about becoming active, never be afraid to ask for advice.

What are the Medication

People with diabetes often need additional treatment along with making lifestyle changes such as medication to control their Blood Pressure and blood fats. Treatment is decided by your specialist. But you should be aware of timings, dosage and its function in the body.

In diabetes stopping the treatment by your own can create lots of problems.

Hypoglycemia is the common problem which can happen in pt who is being treated with oral medications or Insulin

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be life threatening condition and its very important to act early.

Low blood sugar: a level below about 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) occurs when there's too much insulin and not enough sugar (glucose) in your blood. Low blood sugar is most common among people taking insulin, but it can also occur if you're taking oral diabetes medications.

When your blood sugar is low you may feel:

Shaky or nervous, Tired, Sweaty, Hungry, Irritable, Impatient, Cold, Confused

You may also feel tingling around your mouth.

Reasons for blood sugar swings

Although it is frustrating, blood sugar levels can also be too high for no clear reason.

Sometimes these high levels may be the first sign of an infection, illness or stress.

Because blood sugar levels can go very high when you are ill, talk with your health care team about creating a sick day plan to manage your diabetes when you have a cold, flu or other illness.

Pre Diabetes

Pre diabetes is when one has higher than normal glucose level but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Pre-diabetes is present when hba1c is over 6% -6.4%.

A person with pre-diabetes can be prevented to develop Diabetes by:

1. Improving diet

2. Increasing physical activity at least 30 minutes for 5 days in a week.

3. By reducing body weight, high blood glucose levels can return to normal which reduces the likelihood of developing T2D.

Benefits of weight loss

Benefits of an active lifestyle

Maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy balanced diet, low in fat and rich in fiber and fruits and vegetables, as well as being physically active is an important part of managing blood sugar levels and avoiding other health complications.

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Diabetes: Symptoms, Treatments, Causes, Tests & Preventions

March 19, 2018 | More Articles: Symptoms

Type 2 diabetes is one of the major degenerative diseases in the Western world today. It happens when your body cant use insulin properly, or cant make enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone the assists the bodys cells in utilizing glucose. It also helps the body store extra sugar in fat, liver, and muscle cells. If you dont have insulin, your body cant use the sugar in the bloodstream.

Then, your blood sugar levels get too high. High blood sugar can have a deleterious effect on many parts of your body, including heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys. Those who are overweight, dont exercise enough, or have a history of type 2 diabetes in their family are more likely to get the disease. Maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and getting enough exercise can prevent type 2 diabetes. If you have a history of diabetes in your family, or if you are overweight, stay ahead of the disease by making healthy lifestyle choices and changing your diet.

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Frequent urination is an early warning symptom of diabetes. When there is too much glucose in the blood, the kidneys work overtime to flush it out of the blood via urination. So, youll find yourself going to bathroom a lot more often than normal. There is also a bigger risk of urinary tractions in both men and women.

Individuals with diabetes have two times the likelihood of getting a urinary tract infection compared to individuals without the disease. If you find yourself getting up every couple of hours in the middle of the night, and you seem to be expelling a lot more urine than you used to, talk to your doctor and find out whether or not you have diabetes.

Increased urinary frequency is called polyuria, and individuals with diabetes are unable to regulate blood sugar levels. When too much sugars in the bloodstream, more fluids will pass through your kidneys.

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16 Early Signs of Diabetes - diabetics.guide

The importance of insulin

Diabetes is a disease in which your body either can't produce insulin or can't properly use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas.

Insulin's role is to regulate the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Blood sugar must be carefully regulated to ensure that the body functions properly. Too much blood sugar can cause damage to organs, blood vessels, and nerves. Your body also needs insulin in order to use sugar for energy.

Eleven million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes. Chances are, diabetes affects you or someone you know.

There are three major types of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common diagnosis, followed by type 1 diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, and is usually temporary. In addition, prediabetes is another important diagnosis that indicates an elevated risk of developing diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes aren't able to produce their own insulin (and can't regulate their blood sugar) because their body is attacking the pancreas. Roughly 10 per cent of people living with diabetes have type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes generally develops in childhood or adolescence, but can also develop in adulthood. People with type 1 need to inject insulin or use an insulin pump to ensure their bodies have the right amount of insulin.

People with type 2 diabetes can't properly use the insulin made by their bodies, or their bodies aren't able to produce enough insulin. Roughly 90 per cent of people living with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is most commonly developed in adulthood, although it can also occur in childhood.Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with healthy eating and regular exercise alone, but may also require medications or insulin therapy.

If you think you or someone you know may have type 2 diabetes, please speak to a doctor or health-care provider.

Link:
What is diabetes? - Diabetes Canada

VA research on Diabetes Introduction

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body cannot produce or properly use insulin. Normally, insulin brings sugar out of the bloodstream and into cells. If the body cannot make insulin or does not respond to it, the sugar stays in the bloodstream. As a result of high blood sugar levels, damage eventually occurs to blood vessels and organs.

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 86 million more Americans are at risk to develop the disease. Many Veterans have the disease, including some who developed it as a result of being exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam.

Symptoms of diabetes include blurry vision, excessive thirst, fatigue, frequent urination, hunger, and weight loss. Persons with diabetes need to have their hemoglobin A1C levels checked every three to six months.

A1c is a measure of average blood glucose during the previous two to three months. It is one of the markers, along with blood pressure and cholesterol control, of good diabetes care.

There are three major types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood. In this type of diabetes the body makes little or no insulin, so daily injections of insulin are needed.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs in adults. In this type of diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to insulin. More than 90 percent of adults with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. More are at risk due to overweight or obesity.

The third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes, high blood glucose that develops during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes.

Diabetes affects nearly 25 percent of VA's patient population. The disease is also the leading cause of blindness, end-stage renal disease, and amputation for VA patients.

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VA researchers are studying innovative strategies and technologies, including group visits, telemedicine, peer counseling, and Internet-based education and case management, to enhance access to diabetes care and to improve outcomes for patients.

In addition, VA researchers are working to develop better ways to prevent or treat diabetes, especially in special populations such as the elderly, amputees, minorities, spinal cord injured patients, and those with kidney or heart disease.

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Two of VA's three Nobel laureates have done important work to benefit Veterans with diabetes. The late Dr. Rosalyn S. Yalow received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for her work in discovering the radioimmunoassay, an extremely sensitive way to measure insulin and other hormones in the blood. The technique made possible major advances in diabetes research and in diagnosing and treating hormonal problems related to growth, thyroid function, and fertility.

Dr. Andrew V. Schally also received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for his discovery that the hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, is currently doing research, along with teams of national and international researchers, on growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). Among other possibilities opened up by Schally's work with GHRH is the possibility of reducing or eliminating the need for diabetics to regularly inject insulin.

In 2013, an international research including Schally devised a way to transplant healthy cells into the body without the usual risk of rejection. The study involved a middle-aged man with diabetes, but it may be relevant to a range of other diseases as well. The researchers developed what amounts to an artificial pancreas (the place where the body makes insulin), which the patient tolerated well without taking drugs to suppress the immune system.

A 2015 study by Schally and his team evaluated newly developed GHRH agonists' ability to promote the growth and function of pancreatic islet cells, and found that these new agonists may provide an improved approach to treating diabetes. Agonists are substances that act like other substances and therefore stimulate an action in the body. Islet cells, also called Islets of Langerhans, sense blood sugar levels and release insulin to maintain normal levels.

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For seven and a half years, researchers involved in a VA cooperative study(CSP 465) looked at nearly 1,800 patients with diabetes. The researchers examined cardiovascular disease, the cause of death in nearly two-thirds of patients with diabetes.

Researchers attempted to determine whether intensive glucose control (using medication and other methods to reduce the level of sugar in the blood in diabetic patients to levels that would be normal in patients without diabetes) reduced heart attacks, strokes, and death from cardiovascular disease.

It had been previously shown that improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels can reduce cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, but no previous study had shown the beneficial effects of glucose control on cardiovascular disease.

VADT researchers showed that intensive glucose control in patients whose type 2 diabetes had previously been poorly controlled had no significant effect on the rates of major cardiovascular events such as coronary artery disease and stroke, compared to those who were using standard glucose control measures.

The research team also found that the two groups of patients had similar death rates, and that both groups had similar levels of complications such as diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy, except that patients using standard glucose control measures had higher levels of albumin in their urine. (Albumin in the urine is a possible indicator of kidney disease.)

Trial researchers concluded that both very high and very low blood sugar levels can be dangerous, and that big swings between high and low levels are also potentially harmful.

As a follow up to VADT, VA researchers looked at whether the improvements in glucose control made by one of the groups in the trial led to long-term improved consequences. They collected information on the VADT cohort for more than nine years of additional study, using VA's electronic records system.

The team found in 2015 that patients who had been in the intensive-control group had a lower incidence of cardiovascular events after the trial was over, but their survival rates were no better than those of the other group.

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Sleep apnea and poor sleep qualityA 2013 study conducted by researchers at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System that was part of the joint VA-Department of Defense Millennium Cohort Study on the health of service members and Veterans, found that sleep apnea and poor sleep quality predicted diabetes, independent of other diabetes risk factors or mental health status.

Sleep apnea increased the risk of diabetes by 78 percent, and simply having trouble sleeping increased the risk of diabetes by 21 percent. The study included more than 47,000 service members and Veterans who were an average age of about 49.

Statin useResearchers at the VA North Texas Health System and their colleagues examined the health records of tens of thousands of Tricare beneficiaries for a nearly 10-year period. Their study, published in 2015, found that the use of statins to lower cholesterol is associated with a significantly higher risk of new-onset diabeteseven in a very healthy population.

They also found that statin use is associated with a very high risk of diabetes complications in this healthy population, and with a higher risk of obesity. High-intensity statin therapy was associated with greater risks for all outcomes.

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Implantation of insulin-producing cellsInsulin-producing cells that respond to glucose and correct blood-sugar levels in diabetic mice have been created by researchers at the Iowa City VA Health Care System and correct blood-sugar levels in diabetic mice.

The researchers took human skin cells and reprogrammed them to create induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells, which were then coaxed into forming insulin-producing cells. When these cells were transplanted into diabetic mice, the cells secreted insulin and reduced the blood sugar levels of the mice to normal or near normal-levels.

The study raises the possibility that patients with diabetes could be treated with their own cells, which will accelerate treatment.

GRADE trialVA researchers are participating in a five-year National Institutes of Health study to compare the long-term benefits and risks of four diabetes drugs in combination with metformin. The study, called the Glycemic Reduction Approaches in Diabetes (GRADE) trial, is expected to include some 5,000 participants nationwide.

Metformin is the first medication doctors typically use when treating type 2 diabetes. If metformin does not control the disease, doctors may add one of several other drugs, all of which have been shown to lower blood sugar levels in studies. However, no previous long-term study has focused on which drug combination works best and has the least side effects.

The four drugs being studied are sulfonylurea, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, and long-acting insulin.

Drug combination causes adverse effectsIn 2013, VA researchers stopped a large multicenter study, part of the Veterans Affairs Nephropathy in Diabetes Study (NEPHRON-D), before its scheduled conclusion. They found that the combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) increases the risk for serious adverse effects in patients with diabetic nephropathy, the leading cause of chronic kidney disease in the United States.

The significant increase in risk caused by taking the combination of drugs overshadowed any benefits taking the drugs may have in reducing the progression of kidney disease.

Diabetic kidney diseaseIn 2015, researchers participating in the NEPHRON-D study found that in patients with proteinuric diabetic kidney disease, a mean systolic blood pressure greater than 140 and a mean diastolic blood pressure greater than 80 were associated with a higher risk of kidney failure and death.

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The Veterans Affairs Implantable Insulin Pump Study; effect on cardiovascular risk factors. Duckworth WC, Saudek CD, Giobbie-Hurder A, Henderson WG, Henry RR, Kelley DE, Edelman SV, Zieve FJ, Adler RA, Anderson RJ, Hamilton BP, Donner TW, Kirkman MS, Morgan NA. Implantable insulin pump therapy in insulin-requiring patients with type 2 diabetes has advantages over multiple-dose insulin therapy in decreasing the requirement for antihypertensive therapy and for decreasing total and free insulin and insulin antibodies. Diabetes Care, 1998 Oct;21(10):1596-602.

Glucose control and vascular complications in veterans with type 2 diabetes. Duckworth W, Abraira C, Moritz T, Reda D, Emanuele N, Reaven PD, Zieve FJ, Marks J, Davis SN, Hayward R, Warren SR, Goldman S, McCarren M, Vitek ME, Henderson WG, Huang GD, VADT investigators. Intensive glucose control in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes had no significant effect on the rates of major cardiovascular events, death, or microvascular complications with the exception of progression of albuminuria. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jan 8;360(2):129-39.

Agonist of growth hormone-releasing hormone as a potential effector for survival and proliferation of pancreatic islets . Ludwig B, Ziegler CG, Schally AV, Richter C, Steffen A, Jabs N, Funk RH, Brendel MD, Block NL, Ehrhart-Bornstein M, Bornstein SR. Evidence that agonists of GHRH represent a promising pharmacological therapy aimed at promoting islet graft growth and proliferation in diabetic patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2010 Jul 13;107(28);12623-8.

Sleep characteristics, mental health, and diabetes risk: a prospective study of U.S. military service members in the Millennium Cohort Study. Boyko EJ, Seelig AD, Jacobson IG, Hooper TI, Smith B, Smith TC, Crum-Cianflone NF; Millennium Cohort Study Team. Trouble sleeping and sleep apnea predict diabetes risk independent of mental health conditions and other diabetes risk factors. Diabetes Care. 2013 Oct;36(10):3154-61.

Combined angiotensin inhibition for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Fried LF, Emanuele N, Zhang JH, Brophy M, Connor TA, Duckworth W, Leehey DJ, McCullogh PA, O'Connor T, Palevsky PM, Reilly RF, Seliger SL, Warren SR, Watnick S, Peduzzi P, Guarino P; VA NEPHRON-D investigators. Combination therapy with an angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and an angiotensin-receptor-blocker (ARB) was associated with an increased risk of adverse events among patients with diabetic nephropathy. N Engl J Med. 2013 Nov 14;369(20); 1892-903.

Human iPS cell-derived insulin producing cells form vascularized organoids under the kidney capsules of diabetic mice. A pancreatic organ can be created in vivo, providing evidence that human iPS cells might be a novel option for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. PLoS One, 2015 Jan 28;10(1):e0116582.

Enriching the diet with menhaden oil improves peripheral neuropathy in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic rats. Coppey LJ, Davidson EP, Obrosov A, Yorek MA. Enriching the diet with n-3 fatty acids may be a good treatment strategy for diabetic neuropathy. J Neurophysiol. 2015 Feb 1;113(3):701-8.

Follow-up of glycemic control and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. Hayward RA, Reaven PD, Wiitala WL, Bahn GD, Reda DJ, Ge L, McCarren M, Duckworth WC, Emanuele NV, VADT Investigators. After nearly 10 years of follow-up, patients with type 2 diabetes who had been randomly assigned to intensive glucose control for 5.6 years had 8.6 fewer major cardiovascular events per 1000 person years than those assigned to standard therapy, but no improvement was seen in the rate of overall survival. N Engl J Med. 2015 Jun 4; 372(23):2197-206.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition ameliorates Western diet-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance through hepatic lipid remodeling and modulation of hepatic mitochondrial function.Aroor AR, Habibi J, Ford DA, Nistala R, Lastra G, Manrique C, Dunham MM, Ford KD, Thyfault JP, Parks EJ, Sowers JR, Rector RS. Mice fed a diet that includes a DPP-4 inhibitor were found to have less insulin resistance than those not given the inhibitor. Diabetes. 2015 Jun;64(6):1988-2001.

BP and Renal Outcomes in Diabetic Kidney Disease: The Veterans Affairs Nephropathy in Diabetes Trial. Leehey DJ, Zhang JH, Emanuele NV, Whaley-Connell A, Palevsky PM, Reilly RF, Guarino P, Fried LF; VA NEPHRON-D Study Group. In patients with proteinuric diabetic kidney disease, mean systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and mean diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 80 mmHg were associated with worse renal outcomes. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Oct 19. pii: CJN.02850315. [Epub ahead of print]

Beneficial effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone agonists on rat INS-1 cells and on streptozotocin-induced NOD/SCID mice. Zhang, X, Cui T,He J, Wang H, Cai R, Popovics P, Vidaurre I, Sha W, Schmid J, Ludwig B, Block NL, Bornstein SR, Schally AV. This study provides an improved approach to the therapeutic use of GHRH agonists in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Proc Natl Acad SCi USA, 2015 Nov 3; 112(44):13651-6.

Practical telemedicine for Veterans with persistently poor diabetes control: a randomized pilot trial. Crowley MJ, Edelman D, McAndrew AT, Kistler S, Danus S, Webb JA, Zanga J, Sanders LL, Coffman CJ, Jackson Gl, Bosworth HB. A comprehensive telemedicine intervention improved outcomes among Veterans with persistently poor diabetes control despite clinic-based care. Telemed J E Health. 2015 Nov 5. (Epub ahead of print.)

Statins and New-- Mellitus and Diabetic Complications: A Retrospective Cohort Study of US Healthy Adults. Mansi I, Frei CR, Wang CP, Mortensen EM. Diabetes, diabetic complications, and overweight/obesity were more commonly diagnosed among statin users than similar nonusers in a healthy cohort of adults. J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Nov;30(11):1599-610.

Rates of deintensification of blood pressure and glycemic medication treatment based on levels of control and life expectancy in older patients with diabetes mellitus. Sussman JB, Kerr EA, Saini SD, Holleman RG, Klamerus ML, Min LC, Vijan S, Hofer TP. Physicians are not likely to cut back on blood pressure and glycemic medication treatments in older patients with diabetes after they reach low BP or hemoglobin A1c levels. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(12):1942-1949.

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Diabetes - research.va.gov

Diabetes mellitus, usually called diabetes, is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use normal amounts of insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in your blood. A high blood sugar level can cause problems in many parts of your body.

The most common ones are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children. It is also called juvenile onset diabetes mellitus or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In this type, your pancreas does not make enough insulin and you have to take insulin injections for the rest of your life.

Type 2 diabetes, which is more common, usually occurs in people over 40 and is called adult onset diabetes mellitus. It is also called non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In Type 2, your pancreas makes insulin, but your body does not use it properly. The high blood sugar level often can be controlled by following a diet and/or taking medication, although some patients must take insulin. Type 2 diabetes is particularly prevalent among African Americans, American Indians, Latin Americans and Asian Americans.

With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly. Your body will retain more water and salt than it should, which can result in weight gain and ankle swelling. You may have protein in your urine. Also, waste materials will build up in your blood.

Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body. This can cause difficulty in emptying your bladder. The pressure resulting from your full bladder can back up and injure the kidneys. Also, if urine remains in your bladder for a long time, you can develop an infection from the rapid growth of bacteria in urine that has a high sugar level.

About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 (juvenile onset) diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes eventually will suffer from kidney failure.

The earliest sign of diabetic kidney disease is an increased excretion of albumin in the urine. This is present long before the usual tests done in your doctor's office show evidence of kidney disease, so it is important for you to have this test on a yearly basis. Weight gain and ankle swelling may occur. You will use the bathroom more at night. Your blood pressure may get too high. As a person with diabetes, you should have your blood, urine and blood pressure checked at least once a year. This will lead to better control of your disease and early treatment of high blood pressure and kidney disease. Maintaining control of your diabetes can lower your risk of developing severe kidney disease.

As your kidneys fail, your blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels will rise as well as the level of creatinine in your blood. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, weakness, increasing fatigue, itching, muscle cramps (especially in your legs) and anemia (a low blood count). You may find you need less insulin. This is because diseased kidneys cause less breakdown of insulin. If you develop any of these signs, call your doctor.

Signs of Kidney Disease in Patients with Diabetes

First, the doctor needs to find out if your diabetes has caused the injury. Other diseases can cause kidney damage. Your kidneys will work better and last longer if you:

If no other problems are found, your doctor will try to keep your kidneys working as long as possible. The use of high blood pressure medicines called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors has been shown to help slow the loss of kidney function.

The kidney doctor, called a nephrologist, will plan your treatment with you, your family and your dietitian. Two things to keep in mind for keeping your kidneys healthy are controlling high blood pressure in conjunction with an ACE inhibitor and following your renal diabetic diet. Restricting protein in your diet also might be helpful. You and your dietitian can plan your diet together. For Kidney and Diabetes friendly recipes click here to visit our Kidney Kitchen.

End stage renal failure, or kidney failure, occurs when your kidneys are no longer able to support you in a reasonably healthy state, and dialysis or transplantation is needed. This happens when your kidneys function at only 10 to 15 percent.

Three types of treatment can be used once your kidneys have failed: kidney transplantation, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. To learn more about treatment options for kidney failure click here.

Yes. Once you get a new kidney, you may need a higher dose of insulin. Your appetite will improve so your new kidney will break down insulin better than your injured one. You will use steroids to keep your body from rejecting your new kidney. If your new kidney fails, dialysis treatment can be started while you wait for another kidney. To learn more about kidney transplant click here.

Sometimes it is possible to perform a pancreas transplant along with a kidney transplant. Your doctor can advise you about this possibility.

Today, more and more research dollars are spent on diabetes research. Hopefully, the prevention and cure of diabetes is in our future. In the meantime, you can manage your diabetes better with:

If you would like more information, please contact us.

2015 National Kidney Foundation. All rights reserved. This material does not constitute medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. Please consult a physician for specific treatment recommendations.

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Diabetes - A Major Risk Factor for Kidney Disease | National ...

According to an analysis of global health trends from the year 1990 up to 2013,1 there has been a striking and alarming rise in the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, a trend that continues now, especially in the United States. In a study published in 2015, its said that at least 50 percent of American adults2 are now either in a state of prediabetes or are already struggling with the illness.

The American Diabetes Association says 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4 percent of the population, have diabetes, while 84.1 million U.S. adults age 18 and older had prediabetes.3 Even children are now being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, with the numbers continuing to rise.

Diabetes is an illness that can affect anyone. Its now a leading cause of death according to the Diabetes Research Institute, diabetes now takes more lives compared to breast cancer and AIDS combined claiming the life of one American every three minutes.4 But what exactly is diabetes mellitus? Why does it happen and how can you break free from it?

WebMD defines diabetes mellitus (also known simply as diabetes) as a chronic, lifelong condition that affects your body's ability to use the energy found in food.5 This is a group of metabolic diseases wherein the glucose that you get from food remains in your bloodstream (high blood sugar).

When you eat, your body transforms food into a special sugar (glucose) that your cells use for energy. However, in order for your cells to be able to take in the glucose and use it as fuel, it first needs a particular hormone called insulin.6 This essential hormone is produced in your pancreas.

In normal, healthy people, the pancreas does a good job of providing your body with just the right amount of insulin it needs. Insulin opens your cells and lets glucose enter so it can be used for energy.7

However, if you have diabetes, it means that your insulin production is inadequate, the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or a combination of these two factors. Because the cells are unable to take in the glucose, it then builds up in your blood where it wreaks havoc on your health.8

Aside from insulin, however, there are two more hormones that can predispose you to diabetes: leptin and ghrelin. Produced by your fat cells, leptin is a hormone that is responsible for telling the brain three things:

In addition, leptin is also necessary for your immune system, fertility and energy burning.

Meanwhile, ghrelin is the hormone that tells your body that youre hungry. Its secreted by the lining of your stomach. Since ghrelin is influenced by the growth hormone in your body, it tends to work differently in women and men.

These two hormones, along with insulin, are the three primary players (along with other factors) in the occurrence of diabetes.

If there is a problem in your bodys leptin or ghrelin signaling, then you tend to consume too much food for your activity level and metabolism rate, resulting in weight gain and obesity. And once obesity sets in, your cells become insulin-resistant, predisposing you to high blood glucose levels.

The excessively high levels of sugar in your blood cause damage to the tiny blood vessels in different body organs. This includes the heart, kidneys, nervous system and eyes. This is why diabetes has been widely associated with a wide range of health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, eye problems and blindness, stroke and nerve damage in the feet.9

People with diabetes also experience various symptoms, the most common of which are frequent urination, increasing thirst and always being hungry.10

Living with diabetes can be emotionally and physically overwhelming. Its also a financial burden for most people annually, this illness costs the American public over $245 billion.11

The good news is that diabetes is potentially reversible and completely preventable without having to resort to conventional drugs. All it takes is a few disciplined lifestyle tweaks, particularly in your diet, so that you can avoid this damaging disease.

Diabetes: An Introduction

Causes of Diabetes

Excerpt from:
What Is Diabetes Mellitus? - articles.mercola.com