How Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep?


Meditation

This randomized controlled trial demonstrates that the Calm app can be used to treat fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal in adults with sleep disturbance.”

Huberty et al., 2021

These findings were published in the PLOS ONE journal in January.

Sleep disturbance in adults

Sleep is a basic homeostatic need and is critical for the maintenance of normal cognitive and metabolic functions. Sleep disturbance is very common in adults and can arise a result of various environmental, psychosocial, and lifestyle-associated risk factors.

In a study evaluating the prevalence of sleep disturbance in adults, 60% of American adults reported that they live with some form of sleep disturbance such as excessive sleeping, disrupted sleep-wake cycles, and restlessness.

Sleep disturbance causes both adverse short- and long-term effects. Previous studies demonstrate that these disturbances may cause prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Activation of both the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis results in the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH – a hormone that stimulates the production of cortisol) and cortisol, both of which are normally secreted during stress. Prolonged activation, as a result of sleep disturbance, causes further secretion of these hormones which in turn causes both short- and long-term consequences associated with chronic stress.

The circadian rhythm is also disrupted as a result of sleep disturbance. The circadian rhythm is responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycle and is controlled by physiological and behavioral rhythms. The circadian rhythm also regulates metabolic activity by sending cues for physical activity and food consumptions and by regulating our heart rate and body temperature.

These processes are all regulated by neurons of the hypothalamus. In sleep disturbance, these neurons are damaged and/or lost meaning that these processes are no longer regulated. The circadian rhythm therefore can no longer regulate food consumption, physical activity, and the sleep-wake cycle. This results in both short- and long-term consequences.

Short-term effects of sleep disturbance consist of the primary outcome, fatigue, and secondary outcomes: daytime sleepiness and pre-sleep arousal. Pre-sleep arousal exists in two forms, cognitive (e.g., intrusive thoughts) and somatic arousal (e.g., headaches). Long-term effects of sleep disturbance are more severe, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression.

Current pharmacological treatments for sleep disturbance are intensive, are not widely tolerable, and often are paired with side effects. Treatments for highly severe sleep disturbance (e.g., insomnia) usually involve cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is also intensive, poorly tolerated and is costly, and therefore is not widely accessible.

Mindfulness mediation is a less intensive method of intervention which previous studies have found to be effective in treating sleep disturbance. Not only is mindfulness meditation less intensive but also is low cost and much more accessible than any other treatment option.

Aim of the study

This study was carried out to determine the effects of the mobile mindfulness mediation app, Calm, on primary and secondary outcomes of sleep disturbance, namely fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal. Sleep data was collected from adults with sleep disturbance and compared with the data of adults with no sleep problems.

The calm app

Calm is a mindfulness meditation app, commonly used by adults with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. The mindfulness meditations available on Calm are grounded in mindfulness-based stress reduction and the sleep stories are grounded in sensory immersion and present moment awareness.

Many studies have demonstrated that Calm significantly improves psychiatric conditions such as anxiety in adults. At present, there are few studies, including those mentioned, that evaluate the effect of Calm on sleep disturbance in adults.

Findings of the study

From this study, researchers found that levels of fatigue largely decreased in adults with sleep disturbance compared with controls. Levels of daytime sleepiness and pre-sleep arousal also decreased following the eight-week trial in adults with sleep disturbance compared with controls.

These findings show that the mindfulness meditation app, Calm, is beneficial in reducing outcomes of sleep disturbance in adults, such as fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal.

What is the future like for mindfulness mediation and sleep?

This study is the first that tests a meditation mobile app for its effects on sleep disturbance in a randomized controlled trial. These findings therefore are a ground-breaking step towards future research involving the use of meditation apps as an alternative treatment for sleep disturbance.

As Calm is widely accessible, disseminating this resource as a tool for sleep can be done easily and effectively and has the potential for large reach as it is available globally”

Huberty et al., 2021

References:

  • Huberty, J. L., Green, J., Puzia, M. E., Larkey, L., Laird, B., Vranceanu, A.-M., Vlisides-Henry, R., & Irwin, M. R. (2021). Testing a mindfulness meditation mobile app for the treatment of sleep-related symptoms in adults with sleep disturbance: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0244717. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244717
  • Medic, G., Wille, M., & Hemels, M. (2017). Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nature and Science of Sleep, Volume 9(9), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.2147/nss.s134864
  • Shallcross, A. J., Visvanathan, P. D., Sperber, S. H., & Duberstein, Z. T. (2019). Waking up to the problem of sleep: can mindfulness help? A review of theory and evidence for the effects of mindfulness for sleep. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.10.005


Causes of Sleep Deprivation

 

What is sleep deprivation?

Sleep deprivation can result from various conditions, such as physical illness, mental illness, aging, etc. In general, an adult person should get 7 – 8 hours of sleep for a good health condition. Not getting the right amount of sleep can initiate various health problems, such as lack of concentration, drowsiness, fatigue, reduced ability to fight off infection, lack of physical strength, and reduced memory function. All these initial symptoms can eventually cause serious complications, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, hallucination, mood swing, depression, and other mental illness. It can also increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and asthma.

A sleep deprived condition can be induced by many factors. People, such as caregivers, who work longer hours than usual mostly do not get enough time for sleep, which is a potential risk factor for sleep deprivation. Similarly, people who work in shifts or are involved in jobs that demand frequent travels are at higher risk.

People with certain health conditions, such as cardiovascular problems, obesity, diabetes, stroke, depression, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, are more likely to be affected by sleep deprivation. Excessive consumption of alcohol or illicit drugs also increases the risk of sleep deprivation.

Image Credit: Stokkete / Shutterstock

What causes sleep deprivation?

There are various causes of sleep deprivation, which can be voluntary behavior, personal obligations, working schedule, or medical problems. One of the important causes of chronic sleep deprivation is a conditioned emotional response. That is thinking too much about sleep problems or feeling anxious about not getting sleep on time. Such feelings can significantly impact normal sleep behaviors and prolong the period of sleep deprivation.

People sometimes undergo sleep deprivation because of voluntary choices. Instead of following a proper schedule for sleep, they prefer to read books, or watching television, or simply socialize. In contrast, certain life situations, such as having a chronically ill family member, can restrict a person’s sleeping hours.

Certain illness, such as cold or tonsillitis, can cause snoring, gagging, and wakefulness, which altogether can disrupt a normal sleeping pattern. People with sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea or snoring and periodic limb movement disorder, can face difficulty getting enough sleep. In addition, certain health problems, such as asthma, or psychiatric conditions, such as depression and anxiety, can interfere with normal sleep-wake cycle.

Certain medicines that are used to treat diseases like epilepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can disrupt normal sleep pattern at night, leading to sleep deprivation.

People who undergo sudden stressful situations in life, such as changing or losing a job, death of a close friend or family member, or moving to a new place, sometimes face acute or short-term sleep deprivation.

A variety of environmental factors, such as extreme cold or hot temperatures, loud noise, and bright light, can disrupt sleep at night. Certain lifestyle factors, such as drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes prior to bedtime, can stimulate the nervous system and delay the onset of sleep. Another vital cause of sleep deprivation is lying in the bed awake and worrying about specific conditions rather than relaxing the mind and preparing for sleep.

Parents with newborns frequently undergo sleep deprivation as they need to take care of babies. Young children and adolescents also frequently suffer from lack of sleep due to study-related commitments, such as exams and assignments.

People older than 65 years frequently undergo sleep deprivation because of aging and age-related health complications. Because of lack of physical activity during daytime time, older people sometimes face hard time falling asleep at night.     

Sources



Sexual Dysfunction History

 The medicalization of sexuality has displaced older beliefs in the noxious influence of guilt, sin, bad habits or evil spells to sexual function in both men and women, but such perspectives still linger to this day. Biomedical reasoning is in fact just one layer that is added to the pile of arguments used to explain sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction.


viagraIn the present-day, pills can treat sexual dysfunction. Image Credit: Yuriy Maksymiv / Shutterstock.com

Sexual dysfunction in men

In present-day societies, it is of utter most importance to maintain an acceptable level of male sexual function. Although a group of sexual dysfunction in men encompasses ejaculation disorders and low libido, erectile dysfunction (defined as the inability to keep an erection) was definitely the biggest problem throughout history until modern times.

In Greek and Roman understanding of sexuality, penetration was a proof of manhood and a prerequisite for a good reputation. Thus, doctors of the affected provided recipes for restorative agents, while bawdy authors wrote comic stories of men who failed the crucial test.

During the 18th century, philosophers embraced the notion of men and women inhabiting distinct sexual spheres while attempting to counter, cure and explain male sexual dysfunction. On the other hand, the nineteenth-century culture that insisted on privacy found discussion of such problems distasteful, although this important issue could not be ignored.

Throughout that period, the authors of marriage manuals for the middle class popularized the theory of “spermatic economy” in which excesses led to a loss of manly vigor and stamina, which can ultimately result in impotence. The dangers of masturbation, prostitution, spermatorrhea and sexually-transmitted diseases were also highlighted.

There was a shift from moral to psychological explanations of male sexual dysfunction in the early 20th century. The rise of the field of endocrinology in the 1920s legitimized the scientific study of the reproductive system in men, and after World War II impotence was declared a problem for both men and women.

Many historians claim that Viagra (sildenafil) has completely trumped psychoanalysis, sex therapy and even surgery. It was the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction which was developed at Pfizer Laboratories practically by accident and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998. The question still remains as to whether the impotence pills that followed truly revolutionized sexuality.

The Rise and Fall of Erectile Dysfunction | Ven Virah | TEDxUnionville

Sexual dysfunction in women

Although the term “female sexual dysfunction” was a fairly recent introduction to the medical literature, the recognition of this type of problem reaches further back. Even in the 16th century, the diagnosis of nymphomania was not uncommon, and a significant increase in the number of women with this condition was observed in the Victorian era.

The intertwined development of sexology and psychiatry at the end of the 19th century led to the rise of new theories of sexual dysfunction. Based on Freud’s pronouncements, certain sexual dysfunctions (such as the failure of achieving vaginal orgasm) were regarded as foundations of “frigidity” (most notably in the works of Hitschmann and Bergler).

Marital advice literature that accentuated the significance of sexual pleasure in marriage proliferated in the UK and the United States in the early years of the 20th century. Sexual dysfunction in women was seen as technical issue that was part of a wider social phenomenon, and that has to be resolved by education considering the profound emotional, physical and spiritual differences between women and men.

First edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM) in 1952 classified problems such as frigidity to a separate category of “Psychophysiological autonomic and visceral disorders”. The second edition published in 1968 was similar, though it added dyspareunia to the list.

Significant changes were seen only in the third edition of DSM issued in 1980, where a shift from psychoanalytic to biological psychiatry can be observed. In place of separate categories for psychophysiological genitourinary disorders and sexual deviations, an umbrella chapter on psychosexual disorders had been introduced.

On the whole, female sexual dysfunction has been considered a generic or descriptive term (rather than diagnostic) throughout history. Still, treatment was sought as if it was a true monocausal condition, despite the fact that it was constituted of different diagnostic categories. The social aspects of sexuality and the potential for resolving sexual dysfunction have been extensively covered in medical literature of the 20th and 21th century.

References



COVID pandemic stress and menstrual cycle changes

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been a period of unprecedented global stress since its inception. At the beginning of the pandemic, educational institutions and businesses shut down, while socializing was strictly prohibited for long periods of time.

For many women, these factors contributed to increased time spent on household chores and childcare, along with professional work responsibilities and increased exposure to domestic strife. These daily activities were often coupled with a lack of emotional support in the form of outings or discussions with friends.


Study: Higher Perceived Stress during the COVID-19 pandemic increased Menstrual Dysregulation and Menopause Symptoms. Image Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock.com

The resulting stress may have impacted both physical and mental health. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* explores this effect on women’s reproductive health against a background of poor social and healthcare support in the initial period of the pandemic.

Introduction

There has been a lack of research on the impact of COVID-19 on women. However, since many women have complained of altered menstrual cycles after taking the vaccine, more research has been conducted on how COVID-19 vaccines affect the female reproductive system.

Such abnormalities, as well as menopausal disturbances, indicate the state of female health and, indirectly, female metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular risk. These factors have been associated with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Stress is known to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes adversely, subsequently causing menstrual alterations. Stress also increases the risk of mental illness.

During the pandemic, depression was reported to affect more females than males. In fact, there is a suggestion that both these areas are interlinked.

Pandemic-related stress may be affecting mental health and menstrual irregularities simultaneously or sequentially.”

The current study explores the links between menstrual symptoms and psychosocial outcomes like anxiety, perceived stress, or depression. The data was acquired from the Rapid Evidence Study of a Provincial Population-Based COhort for GeNder and SEx (RESPPONSE), which is led by the Women’s Health Research Institute in British Columbia, Canada.

Study findings

Premenopausal women

In the sample of premenopausal women, over 25% reported that they had noticed changes in their cycles from March 2020. Of these, 44% complained of heavier or more painful periods, whereas 25% reported a longer duration of bleeding as compared to pre-pandemic periods.

About 20% of women said they had more periods than before during the pandemic, while one in seven had shorter periods. These symptoms were correlated with those younger than 40 as well.

Menopausal women

In this cohort of women, about 7% experienced changes in their postmenopausal status after March 2020. Of these, one in seven began to have menstrual bleeding again, while just over 10% had heightened menstrual symptoms. However, it is likely that over 50% had experienced some changes to their postmenopausal status associated with public health interventions to control the pandemic.

Excluding women who are likely to be in perimenopause, the same proportion of menopausal symptoms related to the pandemic was reported.

Overall, women with higher levels of stress, depression, or anxiety were more likely to experience menstrual and menopausal symptoms. Pandemic stress among those with menstrual disturbances in the premenopausal group was four points higher, while depression and anxiety scores were doubled. This was not related to the number of children.

Among postmenopausal women, these scores were three and about two points higher among those who reported some changes in their symptoms.

Conclusions

Women have been shown to perceive greater stress, anxiety, and depression than men. The self-reported disruption of menstrual cycles in 28% of premenopausal women, as well as altered menopausal symptoms in 7% of the cohort, indicates an association with pandemic-related conditions before vaccines became widely available. The higher the level of anxiety, depression, and stress, the greater the odds of menstrual cycle changes.

Stress has pervasive effects on mental and physical health and our results add to the growing data that female-specific reproductive cycles are also affected.”

Interestingly, having more children did not contribute to stress or changes in the woman’s menstrual cycle, thus ruling out the role of parental duties in inducing stress. However, the proportion of women with greater stress was much higher in the younger cohort of premenopausal women. This may be due to age- or stress-related differences in the effect of the pandemic on the HPG axis.

In fact, older women may be less stressed by the pandemic. This would reflect a lower impact on the endocrine axis as well.

More research is needed to understand how the pandemic has affected female health, given the withdrawal of emotional lifelines and the difficulty of exercising out of the home during this period.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Journal reference:


What are the Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet?

 While there are a variety of reasons for adopting a vegan diet, health reasons are attracting a lot of scientific focus. Vegans tend to be thinner, have lower cholesterol, and have lower blood pressure, and there is some evidence there are additional health benefits that can lead to longer life expectancy.


Vegan burger. Image Credit: Magdanatka / Shutterstock

Metabolism benefits

Vegans benefit from increased consumption of vegetables but can miss out on essential nutrients due to the avoidance of meat and dairy. Vegan diets are usually high in fiber, magnesium, folic acid, phytochemicals, and vitamins C and E. On the other hand, they tend to be lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B-12 and D.

Studies in the short and moderate-term have found that vegan diets can improve energy metabolism in healthy, obese, and type 2 diabetic individuals. Some believe this is due to favorable changes in the gut microbiome that are brought about due to the vegan diet, but there is currently not enough research to verify this. There is also some evidence that vegans consume more protective nutrients and phytochemicals.

Cardiovascular benefits

Diets that are high in fruits and vegetables, nuts, vegetable oils, and whole grain are often associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease development. These types of diets traditionally include Mediterranean and Asian diets, but recently the vegan diet has been postulated to have similar effects.

The lower risk of cardiovascular disease can be achieved by a vegetarian diet, where dairy is included. This seems to be primarily due to the increased intake of fruits and vegetables, which contain valuable nutrients, including fiber and antioxidant vitamins, and have been independently associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Berries rich with antioxidants. Image Credit: Leonori / Shutterstock

While vegan diets are often seen as having lower fat content and vegans are usually thinner, the actual benefits of fat intake associated with veganism on cardiovascular diseases are disputed. In general, vegetable oils are seen as more beneficial than animal fat due to their content of monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and α-linolenic acid.

Effects on cancer prevalence

A lot of evidence indicates that vegans and vegetarians have a lower risk of various cancers, both due directly to nutrient intake and due to secondary effects. For example, obesity is a significant factor in cancer risk, and due to the lower BMI of vegans, they also enjoy lower cancer risk.

Fruits and vegetables have been described as lowering the risk of lung, mouth, esophagus, and stomach cancers, and they tend to be consumed at higher quantities in vegans. Phytochemicals, which are abundant in vegetables and occur at a higher volume in vegan diets, have antioxidant qualities and disrupt cells to stop the progression of cancer.

While vegan diets include nutrients known to lower the risk of cancer, there can also be adverse effects of vegan diets on cancer risks. For example, low vitamin D is associated with increased cancer risk and is also generally low in vegan diets. This may explain why there are not more pronounced differences in the development of cancer between vegans and non-vegans. Vegans may have increased risks due to deficiencies but decreased risks due to increased antioxidant consumption or lower body weight.

Cognitive benefits

One of the lesser-studied areas in how vegan diets can affect an individual is neurobiology and cognitive function. Studies that have focused on this have found mild or moderate improvements when patients afflicted with migraine, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis consumed a vegan diet. These studies are confounded by not accounting for the gluten content of the plant-based diet and by small sample sizes.

Studies looking at specific nutrients show some signs that vegan diets can be beneficial for cognition and mental health. Intake of phytochemicals, which appears to be higher in vegans, is associated with beneficial effects on mental health. In contrast, lower intake of vitamin B-12, which is common in vegans, is associated with detrimental effects on the neurologic system and cognitive health, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.  

Video - A Plant-based Diet Changed My Life

A Plant-based Diet Changed My Life | Pat McAuley | TEDxBabsonCollege

References



The Vegan Diet, Ethos, Affects and Advice

 Cutting meat from one’s diet has become increasingly popular for a number of reasons, including health and environmental concerns.

Vegan diets are characterized by the avoidance of animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy. A vegan diet brings with it a unique set of nutritional and health considerations.


Image Credit: Foxys Forest Manufacture / Shutterstock

The vegan ethos

The vegan diet is particularly popular among younger people, and especially women. In 2006, 1.4% of the US population was vegan, and this increased to 3.4% by 2015.

The central idea around veganism is to avoid animal-based foods due to environmental reasons, ethical concerns regarding the treatment of farm animals, the use of chemicals such as growth stimulants in farm animals, and health advantages.

While the general plant-based contents of veganism hold true, there are several choices vegans can make, which are often influenced by their reason for becoming vegan.

The most extreme are those who eat so-called “living food”, which is uncooked vegan food such as seeds, vegetables, and nuts.

A large number of possible variations in what it means to be vegan can make it challenging to study how veganism impacts health.

Effects of veganism

Research on the effects of vegan diets has primarily focused on two areas: health and environmental impact.

Health studies show that vegan diets are associated with being thinner, having lower cholesterol, and having lower blood pressure, among other health benefits. This is primarily attributed to both food intake and modulation of the gut microbiome. However, long-running studies establishing the actual effectiveness of the diet and separating the effects from other factors are lacking.

Similarly, it can be challenging to assign a validated correct value to the environmental burden of meat-eating.

Several international collaborations have shown that food can be a massive emitter of greenhouse gases through production, transport, storage, cooking, and waste.

Reasons include inefficient use of land, both in terms of grazing animals and in the food used to feed livestock and methane released by livestock.

Beef cattle. Image Credit: Critterbiz / Shutterstock

Studies that have compared meat eaters to vegans and vegetarians have estimated that meat-eaters have a carbon footprint that is more than double the footprint of vegans.

Specifically, meat-eaters are estimated to have greenhouse gas emissions of 7.19 kgCO2e/day compared to 2.89 kgCO2e/day for vegans. Therefore, there is some support that vegan diets can be effective for individuals who change their diet for environmental reasons.

Recommendations for vegans

Because a lot of commonly consumed nutrients from meat and dairy are omitted from a vegan diet, there are some dietary recommendations for vegans that are generally made. These can be in the form of natural sources, fortified foods, or through pill supplements.

Among vitamins, B-12 and D are advised to be supplemented. Foods can be fortified with B-12 to allow vegans to consume B-12 as part of their regular diet, in foods such as fortified soy beverages and nutritional yeast. Vitamin B-12 can also naturally be found in some breakfast cereals. Vitamin D can be found in drinks such as orange juice.

Other essential nutrients that usually need to be supplemented in a vegan diet are calcium and zinc. While calcium is common in many staple vegan foods such as leafy green vegetables and tofu, it usually needs to be complemented with calcium-fortified foods such as fruit juices.

Zinc is also common in many vegan staples, such as grains and legumes, but vegans should be careful to consume enough of these to balance out the high phytate content of a classic vegan diet.

Healthy fatty acids, such as omega-3, is common in fish, and thus often missed out on in vegan diets.

Vegans are recommended to eat foods rich in n-3 fatty acid ALA, such as walnuts and soy products, and n-3 fatty acid DHA, such as soy milk and cereal bars. This is especially important for pregnant and lactating women, who may wish to use additional supplements of long-chain n-3 fatty acids.

Sources

  1. W.J. Craig (2009) Health effects of vegan diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736N
  2. Scarborough, P. et al. (2014) Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Climatic Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1
  3. Medawar, E. et al. (2019) The effect of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systemic review. Translational Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0552-0


Research into a Cure for Diabetes

 Over the past century, new medications and computer technology have helped many individuals better manage their diabetes, yet optimum glucose control remains unreachable for most diabetics, especially young people.


Image Credit: Raihana Asral/Shutterstock.com

Managing diabetes is a daily balancing act that demands continual care. Insulin treatment cannot perfectly replicate a healthy pancreas' physiologic function. This article will explore the research into a cure for diabetes.

Using immunotherapy to cure type-1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a severe public health issue. The body's immune system targets its insulin-producing pancreatic cells.

Immunotherapies work by reprogramming the immune system to stop attacking and destroying the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes may be prevented or slowed down in the future with the help of these new treatments.

Diabetes UK created a network of scientists and research centers called the Type 1 Diabetes Immunotherapy Consortium. It has laid the groundwork for scientists to conduct clinical trials and obtain insights into how immunotherapy can aid in curing type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Tree, an Immunotherapy Consortium scientist, has established world-class specialized laboratories to analyze blood samples from various studies to determine precisely how medicines work to reduce the immune system onslaught.

Using stem cell-derived beta cells for functional cure of diabetes

Pancreatic beta cells regulate blood glucose homeostasis by producing and secreting insulin in response to changes in blood glucose levels. Since insulin is the sole hormone that can lower blood glucose levels, its release into the circulation must be tightly managed.

The loss of beta cell function causes diabetes mellitus. It is a category of metabolic illnesses characterized by persistently increased blood glucose levels. This disease can transform into type 1, 2, or other rare types of diabetes.

In type 1 diabetes, insulin deficit is caused by the death of beta cells due to an autoimmune process. In contrast, in type 2 diabetes, insulin shortage is caused by beta cell malfunction and is often associated with peripheral insulin resistance.

Type 1 and 2 diabetes may be curable with beta cell replacement. According to research, some individuals with brittle T1D are presently being treated by percutaneous infusion of pancreatic islets into the portal vein, which results in long-term insulin independence.

Beta cell replacement is preferable to insulin treatment for overall metabolic regulation, avoidance of severe hypoglycemia, and delaying the advancement of micro and macrovascular problems.

Researchers Move One Step Closer to Curing Diabetes

Currently, there are some drawbacks and hurdles to stem cell therapy. These include the functional immaturity of stem cell-derived beta cells, risk of tumorigenesis, graft immune rejection, and the emergence of encapsulation devices.

A genetic therapy based cure for diabetes

Research published in Endocrine News discusses a genetic therapy based cure for diabetes. According to them, scientists have discovered genetic therapies enabling the body's cells to fight and even cure sickness. Researchers are learning to utilize viral vectors to introduce genes into beta cells that may shield them from immunological assault.

A recent article published in Cureus explores the cure of diabetes type 1 using gene therapy. Gene therapy involves replacing a disease-causing gene with a healthy copy, inactivating a disease-causing gene that isn't working properly or introducing a new or modified gene into the body to help treat illness?

Gene therapy is now being studied for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. Gene therapy uses plasmid DNA, viral vectors, bacterial vectors, human gene editing, and patient-derived cellular gene therapy products.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health became the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of a DNA-based insulin gene therapy in curing type 1 diabetes.

 For the first time, the researchers induced insulin production in diabetic rats, which allowed them to normalize their body's glucose metabolism. This discovery has opened the way for further study in this area.

Treating diabetes using insulin inhibitory receptor

Research published in ScienceDaily focuses on developing regenerative treatments for diabetes that are complementary and alternative to conventional immunological and metabolic therapy.

Using the insulin inhibitory receptor, researchers have revealed a viable molecular target for beta cell protection and regeneration treatment that does not carry the undesired consequences of intensive insulin therapy.

Researchers used mice to show that the role of the inceptor is to protect the beta cells that make insulin from constant activation of the insulin pathway. Insulin resistance may be enhanced by inhibiting the insulin signaling due to the inceptor being activated in diabetes.

Future of the undergoing research into a cure for diabetes

Despite the research, a proper cure for a diabetes with a proven clinical trial in different countries has not yet been developed. The cure for diabetes demands a collaborative research study of researchers and companies from all over the world.

References



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