DIABETES | +30 articles

[mr peabody]

Self-adjusting insulin promises safer blood sugar control of Diabetes

by Rich Haridy | NEW ATLAS | 3 December 2020

An incredible proof-of-concept study from a team of European scientists has demonstrated the development of a novel insulin molecule that can sense blood sugar levels and self-adjust its activity in response to a patient’s needs. The experimental molecule has only been tested in animals so far but the researchers are hopeful further development will offer diabetics a safer and easier insulin therapy in the future.

For most diabetics, maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is akin to constantly balancing on a tightrope. Insulin injections can help lower high blood sugar, but too much insulin or dosing at the wrong time can be dangerous, leading to hypoglycemia.

"The difficult thing with diabetes is that insulin always works the same way,” explains Knud Jensen, an author on the new research from the University of Copenhagen. “It lowers blood sugar, even though that might not be what a patient requires.”

Jensen says he was compelled to develop a safer form of insulin after a colleague told him a story years ago of a type 1 diabetic who passed away after his wife mistakenly gave him insulin at the wrong time. The man was feeling unwell and, thinking it was the result of high blood sugar, insulin was administered. But sadly, the dose of insulin ultimately led to the man’s death.

"That is why we have developed the first step towards a kind of insulin that can self-adjust according to a patient’s blood sugar level,” says Jensen. “This has tremendous potential to vastly improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes.”

The impressive research presents a novel glucose-responsive insulin molecule that can spontaneously increase, or decrease, its activity in response to circulating blood sugar levels.

"The molecule constantly releases a small amount of insulin, but varies according to need," says Jensen. “It will give type 1 diabetes patients a safer and easier treatment.”

The new study not only describes the development of this novel insulin molecule but demonstrates its efficacy in animal models. The unprecedented experiments show the insulin effectively responding to blood glucose fluctuations in rats.

Jensen is optimistic about his team’s achievement but pragmatically notes there is still years of work ahead before this kind of self-regulating insulin hits the market. The research is still in the preliminary stages and it hasn't yet been demonstrated to be safe or effective in humans. However, this is still a landmark achievement in chemistry, offering the first evidence of a glucose-responsive insulin molecule working in a live organism.

"We've tested the insulin molecule on rats and it has proven itself effective,” says Jensen. “The next step is to develop the molecule so that it works more rapidly and accurately. And finally, to test it in humans – a process that can take many years. But it is certainly worth pinning one’s hopes on.”

The new study was published in Chemistry, A European Journal.

Source: University of Copenhagen

Self-adjusting insulin promises safer blood sugar control for diabetics

An incredible proof-of-concept study from a team of European scientists has demonstrated the development of a novel insulin molecule that can sense blood sugar levels and self-adjust its activity in response to a patient’s needs. The experimental molecule has only been tested in animals so far but…

newatlas.com

 

[mr peabody]

Psychedelics could reduce your chances of Diabetes, study*

by Katie Spaulding | IFL Science | 13 Oct 2021

Recently, psychedelic drugs – along with other previously illicit substances – have been seeing something of a comeback in the scientific world. Their usage has been associated with better mental trauma recovery and improved outcomes in overcoming addiction; a slew of studies have been published analyzing the psychedelic experience by personality type and genre, and everyone from scientists to billionaires to entire states have been talking about the potential benefits of tripping balls.

While it ostensibly makes sense that a psychoactive substance might have some use in psychological therapies, it turns out there may be some more physical benefits of psychedelics. That’s according to a new study, published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, which has revealed that people who try the drugs even just once have a lower incidence of both heart disease and diabetes.

“In our previous research, we have found associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and lower odds of being overweight or obese as well as lower odds of having hypertension in the past year, both of which are risk factors of cardiometabolic disease,” study author Otto Simonsson told PsyPost. “We therefore wanted to look specifically at the link between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.”

The study looked at data pulled from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-sponsored initiative, giving the researchers a healthy sample size of over 375,000 respondents. Participants were asked whether they had been told that they had heart disease or diabetes in the past year, and also to report whether they had ever – even once – used “classic” psychedelic substances such as tryptamines (DMT, ayahuasca, or psilocybin), LSD, or phenethylamines (mescaline, peyote, or San Pedro).

Even when the researchers controlled for possible confounding variables such as age, sex, ethnicity, income, education, and so on, the results were clear: lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with nearly one-quarter lower odds of heart disease, and nearly one-eighth lower odds of diabetes, in the past year.

“The study indicates that classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health,” the authors wrote. “It demonstrates the need for further research to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic health (i.e., lifestyle changes, mental health benefits, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory characteristics, and affinity to specific serotonin receptor subtypes).”

While encouraging, the team caution that “there are several limitations inherent in the study design that merit consideration.” This was a cross-sectional study – that is, it considered a “snapshot” of a large population at one point in time – and that makes it impossible to infer causation. It might be that A causes B, in other words, but it could equally be true that B causes A, or that A and B just happen to occur at the same time for an unknown reason.

“The regression models controlled for several potential confounders, but the associations could have been affected by latent variables that were not included in the dataset and could not be controlled for,” explains the study. “For instance, a common factor that predisposes respondents to classic psychedelic use might also predispose them to salubrious lifestyle behaviors associated with cardiometabolic health.”

Another important caveat is that the study relied on self-reported, rather than objectively measured, responses. There was no ability to control or even understand the meaning behind “psychedelic use” – what dose, background, frequency, and so on was left an unknown – and neither were there any such restrictions on the terms “heart disease” or “diabetes.” All this information, therefore, was at the mercy of how broadly, precisely, or well the respondents happened to interpret the questions – not to mention things like how honest they were feeling that day, or how good their memories were.

Nevertheless, the study raises some intriguing possibilities – and Simonsson believes these limitations can and should be overcome.

“The direction of causality remains unknown,” Simonsson told PsyPost. “Future trials with double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled designs are needed to establish whether classic psychedelic use may reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and, if so, through which mechanisms.”

Trying Psychedelics Just Once Might Reduce Your Chances Of Cardiometabolic Disease, Study Finds

Recently, psychedelic drugs – along with other previously illicit substances – have been seeing something of a comeback in the scientific world. Their usag

www.iflscience.com

 

[mr peabody]

Major Depressive Disorder linked to insulin resistance*

by Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW | Medscape | 8 Dec 2020

Individuals experiencing a current episode of major depressive disorder (MDD) are significantly more likely to have insulin resistance (IR), new research shows.

Investigators found patients with MDD were 51% more likely to have IR compared with their counterparts without the depressive disorder. In addition, in individuals experiencing current depression, IR was also associated with depression severity and depression chronicity.

"We learned two things from this study — first, that insulin resistance was associated with being in a depressive episode and with the severity of that episode," Kathleen Watson, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of psychiatry, Stanford University, California, told Medscape Medical News. "Second, we learned that we can estimate insulin resistance using a surrogate measure that is clinically accessible — the triglyceride/HDL ratio."

Targeted approach

Many studies have linked MDD and IR. However, said Watson, "We did not have much description of the nature of this relationship." She added that her team wanted to gain a better understanding of how IR relates to depression characteristics, such as remission status, severity, and chronicity.

"Characterizing these associations will represent a critical step at better phenotyping, a prelude to longitudinal studies, and a more targeted approach to the treatment of MDD," the authors note.

For the study, the researchers drew on data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, a longitudinal Dutch study of adults that describes the course and consequences of depressive and anxiety disorders.

Depression was determined based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (version 2.1), while depression severity was based on the Inventory of Depression Symptomatology. "Chronicity" was defined as depression during the preceding 4 years and was measured using the life chart review.

In a model adjusted for age, sex, education, partner status, smoking status, and alcohol consumption, IR, as assessed by both measures, was linked to depression severity — but only the triglyceride-HDL ratio yielded an association between IR and depression chronicity.

IR was not associated with depression severity or chronicity in remitted MDD on either measure.

"The findings — specifically the association between current, but not remitted, MDD — suggest that "IR is a state, rather than a trait, biomarker of depression," the authors note.

"There are many plausible mechanisms between IR and MDD," said Watson. "Some hypotheses for the link include inflammations, alterations to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and changes in health behavior."

"Understanding these nuances helped us to lay the foundation for future research, including asking whether IR can lead to the development of MDD," she added.

Finally, Watson noted that her team is collaborating with neuroscientists to better identify the brain mechanisms at the genetic, molecular, and cellular level that link IR and MDD and how to target them with potential treatments or interventions.​

Shared biological mechanisms? ​

Commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Roger McIntyre, MD, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada, and head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, said "the results suggest that a subpopulation of people with depression have what might be referred to as 'metabolic syndrome type II' — the depression is a consequence of abnormal metabolic processes."

"The results also suggest that maybe metabolic markers can be used as biomarkers of disease presence vs absence," said McIntyre, who is also the chairman and executive director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation, Toronto, and was not involved with the study.

Also commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Andrea Fagiolini, MD, professor of psychiatry, University of Siena School of Medicine, Italy, said "depression, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases likely share some common biological mechanism, as they share risk factors such as unhealthy diet, unhealthy lifestyles, and frequent exposure to physical and psychological distress."

"It is possible that treatment of depression improves IR; conversely, it is possible that lifestyle programs or medications that are able to improve IR may improve depressive symptoms," suggested Fagiolini, who was not involved with the study.

"It remains to be established which symptoms of depression are most involved in this correlation and whether their improvement precedes or follows the improvement in IR," he noted.

*From the article here:

Major Depression Linked to Insulin Resistance

Individuals experiencing a current episode of major depressive disorder are significantly likely to have insulin resistance, new research shows.

www.medscape.com

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[mr peabody]

Antidepressant use cuts deaths by 1/3 in those with diabetes*

by Miriam Tucker | Medscape | 9 Jul 2019

Most antidepressant classes are associated with reduced mortality risk among people with both diabetes and major depression, new research suggests.

There was an approximate 35% reduction in deaths over the study period for all antidepressant classes except for reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A (RIMA).

"Since the incidence of major depressive disorder among individuals with diabetes is significantly greater than the general population, and diabetes and depression each independently contribute to elevated total mortality, we suggest clinicians need to screen for depression among patients with diabetes," lead researcher Vincent Chin-Hung Chen, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at Chang Gung Medical University and staff psychiatrist at Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, Taiwan, told Medscape Medical News.

"Clinicians can cooperate with psychiatrists to help those patients, including prescription of antidepressants," Chen added.

However, he also cautioned that this is "an association study and does not represent a causal relationship. Further studies are warranted," to replicate the findings, especially in other countries or areas, he emphasized.

The results are from a retrospective analysis of over 50,000 individuals with comorbid diabetes and major depression or dysthymia from a nationwide Taiwanese database. The study was published online July 2 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by Chen and colleagues.

*From the article here :

Antidepressant Use Cuts Deaths by a Third in Those With Diabetes

For patients with comorbid new-onset diabetes and subsequent major depression, use of drugs from most antidepressants classes resulted in a 35% lower mortality rate over 10 years.

www.medscape.com

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[mr peabody]

Finding the hidden sugar in the foods you eat

JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE

Are you skipping cookies, cake or other sweet treats to reduce your sugar intake? Give yourself an A for effort, but you’re probably still eating more sugar than you realize. The average American eats 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, according to the American Heart Association. You’re likely not adding that much sugar to food yourself, so could you really be eating that much? Well, yes, says Erin Gager, R.D., L.D.N., a dietitian at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, because sugar is in a lot more foods than you may think.​

Health risks of excess sugar​

This extra sugar may be adding to your waistline as well as putting your heart at risk. Research shows that excess sugar consumption can be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar consumption to 25 grams (about six teaspoons) per day for women and 36 grams (nine teaspoons) per day for men. Knowing where sugar may be hiding can help you meet these goals and beat added sugar at its game of hide and seek.​

Know the names for sugar​

The nutrition facts label is required to inform you how much sugar is in a food. However, the label does not separate the amounts of naturally occurring sugar from added sugar, Gager explains. Sugar is found naturally in many nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables. But, you have to be a bit more savvy with locating foods that contain added sugar. There are more than 60 names for added sugar.
To identify added sugars, look at the ingredients list. Some major clues that an ingredient is an added sugar include:​

• It has syrup (examples: corn syrup, rice syrup)​
• The word ends in “ose” (examples: fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose)​
• “Sugar” is in the name (examples: raw sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, confectionary sugar)​

Other examples of added sugar include fruit nectars, concentrates of juices, honey, agave and molasses.​

4 Foods with hidden sugar​

Most people are able to identify desserts and candy as having added sugar, but what about less obvious sources? Some foods that most people would consider “healthy” may actually have a lot of added sugar in them, such as:​

1. Breakfast cereal​

   Just because it says “whole grain” or “fortified with vitamins and minerals” doesn’t mean there’s no sugar.
   Health tip: Try to choose a cereal with 10–12 grams or less of sugar per serving. Granola and granola bars can be heavy sources of added sugars, so check their labels.

2. Yogurt​

   If you like flavored yogurt, peek at the nutrition facts label. You may be shocked at the amount of sugar you are eating.
   Health tip: Try looking around and experimenting with other, less sugary yogurts. You can always get a plain yogurt and add your own fruit!

3. Condiments​

   Sometimes your food just needs a little extra kick, but keep in mind that it might cost you in your sugar consumption. Ketchup, barbecue sauce, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, salad dressings and relish all have added sugars that mount up.

4. Beverages​

   A study conducted at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that drinking high levels of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage was associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease in adults without a history of cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes.
   Health tip: Be careful and read the nutrition facts label when choosing carbonated beverages, flavored milks and sports drinks.

Be sure to talk to your doctor or a dietitian if you make changes to your diet.

Healthy snack suggestion: Do-it-yourself Trail Mix

Try this trail mix recipe for a sweet-tasting, healthy treat.

Ingredients​

• 1 cup wheat cereal​
• 1/4 cup dried fruit: raisins, blueberries, cranberries, chopped apricots, plums, or peaches, or a mixture​
• 1/4 cup cashews (1 ounce)​

Directions​

Mix ingredients, split into two servings, and store in sandwich-sized plastic bags. Each serving contains about 192 calories, 5 g protein, 9 g fat, 28 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, and 115 mg sodium.

Finding the Hidden Sugar in the Foods You Eat

Are you skipping cookies, cake or other sweet treats to reduce your sugar intake? Give yourself an A for effort, but you’re probably still eating more sugar than you realize.

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

 

[mr peabody]

Psychedelic use associated with reduced risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes

by Emily Jarvieon | PSYCHEDELIC SPOTLIGHT | 14 Oct 2021

Researchers say there are several ways classic psychedelics could, directly and indirectly, lead to improved cardiometabolic health.
​

While the use of psychedelics to treat a wide variety of mental health conditions is gaining widespread attention, new research shows psychedelic use may reduce a person’s odds of experiencing physical illnesses such as heart disease or diabetes.

A recent study published in Scientific Reports found that even if a person has only tried a classic psychedelic once in their lifetime, they demonstrated lower odds of both cardiometabolic diseases.

Using data from the United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005 – 2014), the study investigated if there were associations between heart disease and diabetes and the lifetime use of classic psychedelics. This term broadly refers to psychoactive substances that are serotonin 2A receptor agonists, such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and mescaline.

Researchers found that heart disease or diabetes prevalence in the past year among respondents who had never used a classic psychedelic was approximately 51% and 52%, respectively. This was higher than prevalence rates of about 45% and 41%, respectively, for respondents who had used a tryptamine (DMT, ayahuasca, or psilocybin) during their lifetime.

Overall, the study found that lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with 23% lower odds of heart disease in the past year and 12% lower odds of diabetes in the past year.

Researchers said that there were several ways classic psychedelics could, directly and indirectly, lead to improved cardiometabolic health, specifically:

– Classic psychedelics may facilitate healthy lifestyle changes associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, such as a change in diet, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and exercise

– Classic psychedelics have been shown to improve mental health conditions associated with cardiometabolic diseases, such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic stress

– Classic psychedelics have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, which are important for both cardiometabolic and mental health

– Classic psychedelics have a high affinity to the key serotonin receptor subtypes associated with cardiometabolic diseases, such as the serotonin 2A and 2C receptors

To date, no study has investigated the long-term cardiometabolic effects of classic psychedelics. The researchers concluded: “classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic diseases … which could potentially be administered both as a pharmacological treatment and as part of a program to facilitate healthy lifestyle changes.”

It was noted that these findings build on earlier research on the association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and various markers of physical health.

A 2021 study found, “respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had significantly higher odds of greater self-reported overall health and significantly lower odds of being overweight or obese.”

This study also noted a significant association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and having a heart condition or cancer in the past 12 months. Furthermore, another 2021 study found that respondents who reported using a classic psychedelic at least once had significantly lower odds of hypertension in the past year.

https://psychedelicspotlight.com/psychedelic-use-reduced-risk-heart-disease-diabetes/
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[mr peabody]

University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Psychedelic use linked to lower diabetes risk*

by Robby Berman | Medical News Today | 3 Nov 2021

• A new study has found that people who have taken a classic psychedelic even once have a lower incidence of heart disease and diabetes.​
• The researchers suspect that if any connection exists, it is that psychedelic use promotes a healthier lifestyle through behavioral changes.​

Since ancient timesTrusted Source, practitioners of traditional medicine across the globe have turned to plants and fungi with psychedelic properties in the hopes of healing the mind and spirit. New research suggests a link between psychedelics and a healthy body, as well.

The study finds a strong association between lifetime use of classic psychedelics and lower rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

This observational research does not explore or assert a causal relationship between the compounds and heart health or diabetes. It establishes only a correlation.

“No one should read this paper and think that using psychedelics is a good way to prevent heart disease or diabetes,” Dr. Edo Paz of K Health told Medical News Today in an email. Dr. Paz was not involved in the research.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Otto Simonsson, explained to MNT, “We still know very little about the long-term effects of classic psychedelics on physical health. We are in the early days.”

The study paper has been published in Scientific ReportsTrusted Source.​

Classic psychedelic substances​

The psychedelics considered “classic” fall into three classes, each with similar structures and mechanisms of action. All, however, primarily act as serotonin 2A receptorTrusted Source agonists.

The three classes of drugs are:​

• Tryptamine: This class includes DMT, ayahuasca, which contains DMT, and mushrooms’ psilocybin.​
• Lysergamides: Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is the only psychedelic in this class.​
• Phenethylamines: This class includes mescaline, peyote cacti that contain mescaline, and San PedroTrusted Source.​

A return to psychedelic research​

Given the medicinal use of psychedelics throughout human history, scientists in the mid-20th century began testing their potential value in treating mood disorders and addiction, often with encouraging results.

The 21st century has seen renewed psychedelic advocacy, new funding, and the fading of stigma associated with these substances, and scientists have returned to studying them. In 2000, Johns Hopkins University was the first to receive regulatory approval for psychedelic research, which included healthy volunteers.​

Finding associations​

The present study was based on data from the 2015–2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which included responses from 171,766 adults in the United States aged at least 18.

Use of psychedelics was associated with a 23% lower chance of heart disease and a 12% lower chance of diabetes.

The authors explain:​

“Respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had lower odds of heart disease in the past year and lower odds of diabetes in the past year.”​

The research follows an earlier analysis of the same data by Dr. Simonsson and senior investigator Prof. Peter S. Hendricks. Dr. Simonsson explained that it “found associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and lower odds of being overweight, as well as lower odds of having hypertension in the past year.”

Of the new study’s closer look, he said, “It was therefore not completely surprising to find that lifetime classic psychedelic use was also associated with lower odds of heart disease and diabetes in the past year.”

Addressing the connection between psychedelics, heart disease, and diabetes, Dr. Simonsson cited another study. “There is an in-depth review paper suggesting that psychedelics — if administered in the proper context — may be conducive to good physical health by promoting positive lifestyle change. This is our working hypothesis, too.”

Dr. Paz told MNT that he suspected that “People who have tried psychedelic medications probably have other characteristics that differentiate them from people who have not tried psychedelics, and it is those characteristics that are associated with a lower risk of heart disease or diabetes.”

“So if you want to reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes,” explained Dr. Paz, “do not reach for psychedelics. Focus on a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise, and maintain a healthy weight. You should also know your blood pressure and your cholesterol levels, and work to keep those in a healthy range.”

Whatever the causal link, if any, the study authors write that their investigation "demonstrates the need for further research to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic health (i.e., lifestyle changes, mental health benefits, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory characteristics, and affinity to specific serotonin receptor subtypes).”

*From the article here :​

Psychedelics linked to lower risk of heart disease and diabetes

A new study finds a correlation between classic psychedelic use and a reduced risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[mr peabody]

Sugar leads to early death, but not due to obesity

by MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences | Medical Xpress | 19 Mar 2020

Sugar-rich diets have a negative impact on health independent of obesity reports a new study led by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK.

Researchers discovered that the shortened survival of fruit flies fed a sugar-rich diet is not the result of their diabetic-like metabolic issues.

The findings, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, instead suggest that early death from excess sugar is related to the build-up of a natural waste product, uric acid.

We all know that consuming too much sugar is unhealthy. It increases our risk of developing metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes, and can shorten our life expectancy by several years. While this reduction in lifespan is widely believed to be caused by metabolic defects, this new study in fruit flies reveals that this may not be the case.

"Just like humans, flies fed a high-sugar diet show many hallmarks of metabolic disease—for instance, they become fat and insulin resistant," says Dr. Helena Cochemé, the principal investigator of the study. "Obesity and diabetes are known to increase mortality in humans, and so people always assumed that this was how excess sugar is damaging for survival in flies."

However, like salt, sugar also causes dehydration. In fact, thirst is an early symptom of high blood sugar and diabetes. Dr. Cochemé continues: "Water is vital for our health, yet its importance is often overlooked in metabolic studies. Therefore, we were surprised that flies fed a high-sugar diet did not show a reduced lifespan, simply by providing them with an extra source of water to drink. Unexpectedly, we found that these flies still exhibited the typical metabolic defects associated with high dietary sugar."

Based on this water effect, the team decided to focus on the fly renal system. They showed that excess dietary sugar caused the flies to accumulate a molecule called uric acid. Uric acid is an end-product from the breakdown of purines, which are important building blocks in our DNA. But uric acid is also prone to crystallise, giving rise to kidney stones in the fly. Researchers could prevent these stones, either by diluting their formation with drinking water or by blocking the production of uric acid with a drug. In turn, this protected against the shortened survival associated with a sugar-rich diet.

So, does this mean we can eat all the sugary treats we want, as long as we drink plenty of tea? "Unfortunately not." says Dr. Cochemé. "The sugar-fed flies may live longer when we give them access to water, but they are still unhealthy. And in humans, for instance, obesity increases the risk of heart disease. But our study suggests that disruption of the purine pathway is the limiting factor for survival in high-sugar-fed flies. This means that early death by sugar is not necessarily a direct consequence of obesity itself."

To understand the impact of dietary sugars on human health, collaborators from Kiel University in Germany explored the influence of diet in healthy volunteers. "Strikingly, just like flies, we found that dietary sugar intake in humans was associated with worse kidney function and higher purine levels in the blood," says Prof. Christoph Kaleta, co-author of the study.

Accumulation of uric acid is a known direct cause of kidney stones in humans, as well as gout, a form of inflammatory arthritis. Uric acid levels also tend to increase with age, and can predict the onset of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. "It will be very interesting to explore how our results from the fly translate to humans, and whether the purine pathway also contributes to regulating human survival," concludes Dr. Cochemé. "There is substantial evidence that what we eat influences our life expectancy and our risk for age-related diseases. By focusing on the purine pathway, our group hopes to find new therapeutic targets and strategies that promote healthy ageing."

Sugar leads to early death, but not due to obesity

Sugar-rich diets have a negative impact on health independent of obesity reports a new study led by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK.

medicalxpress.com

Long-term high-sugar diet -> systemic inflammation -> arterial lesions -> plastering-over of arterial lesions -> arterial narrowing -> heart attack / stroke

-pb​

 

[mr peabody]

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Once-a-week insulin bolstered by results of phase 2 clinical trials

by Michael Irving | NEW ATLAS | 19 Apr 2021

For millions of patients with diabetes, daily insulin injections are a necessary nuisance. A once-a-week shot might be more palatable, and new results from phase 2 clinical trials suggest just such a drug is safe and effective.

The drug at the heart of the studies is called icodec, an insulin analog with a half-life of 196 hours – a little over eight days. Developed by Novo Nordisk, the drug works by modifying the insulin molecule to keep it from being broken down by enzymes, and maintains a steady insulin release by binding to proteins produced in the liver.

Back in September 2020, the results of a phase 2 trial of icodec were released, showing that the weekly shot was just as effective at managing patients’ blood sugar levels as the usual daily doses, and had similar numbers of adverse events. The two new studies support this finding.

The first study describes a trial involving 205 patients with Type 2 diabetes from seven countries, to test the efficacy and safety of icodec over 23 weeks. They were divided into four groups – a control group that continued receiving daily injections of insulin, and three experimental groups that received weekly icodec shots. These three groups were treated with different titration algorithms, which are used to calculate the dose required to stabilize a patient’s blood glucose levels.

In all three test groups, the new drug worked well and was well tolerated, with no episodes of severe hypoglycemia recorded.

The second study, involving 154 patients from five countries, focused on determining the best way to transition patients from a daily to a weekly dose. The switch was, again, effective and well tolerated by the patients, but the team found that doubling the first dose significantly increased the time patients spent within their required blood glucose range, without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia.

“A weekly insulin is a game-changer that will decrease the treatment burden for patients while also improving compliance,” says Ildiko Lingvay, an author of both studies. “This treatment will also decrease the burden on those who care for patients with diabetes requiring insulin. For example, for patients who need help injecting, those living in long-term care facilities, and those with memory problems, a once-weekly insulin will facilitate treatment and decrease the burden on the care providers.”

A large phase 3 clinical trial is already underway, which will evaluate the efficacy of weekly icodec doses in patients with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

The two studies were both published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Source: UT Southwestern

Once-a-week insulin bolstered by results of phase 2 clinical trials

For millions of patients with diabetes, daily insulin injections are a necessary nuisance. A once-a-week shot might be more palatable, and new results from phase 2 clinical trials suggest just such a drug is safe and effective.

newatlas.com

 

[mr peabody]

Getting off the blood sugar roller coaster

by McGill University | Medical Xpress | 27 Feb 2020

For the 250,000 Canadians living with type 1 diabetes, the days of desperately trying to keep their blood sugar stable are coming to an end. A team of researchers at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine is working to optimize an artificial pancreas with the ability to minimize the glucose highs and lows that diminish quality of life and contribute to long-term health complications.

Creating smart insulin pumps

Insulin pumps have been around for more than 30 years. Using these portable devices, people living with diabetes manually select the amount of insulin released into their bloodstream. While the majority still prick their finger to test their blood glucose level in order to determine the right amount of insulin, a growing number use an automatic glucose sensor. Even using the automatic sensor, however, the average person hits their glucose target less than 50 percent of the time. As a result, they spend most of their time in a state of hyperglycemia, which produces headaches and weakness, or hypoglycemia, which causes dizziness, confusion, and difficulty speaking.

Dr. Ahmad Haidar began his Ph.D. studies at McGill just as the automatic glucose sensor became commercially available. "It was the best coincidence of my life," he claims, "because the automatic sensor made it possible to create an artificial pancreas system." Drawing upon his background in control engineering, Dr. Haidar devised an algorithm that tells the insulin pump how much insulin to release based on the sensor reading entered by the user. He then teamed up with three clinicians in the McGill Faculty of Medicine—Drs. Laurent Legault, Michael Tsoukas, and Jean-Francois Yale—to form the McGill Artificial Pancreas Lab. Their team of 12 full-time and 45-part time researchers has become the only group in Canada to develop artificial pancreas systems.

Advances through the artificial pancreas systems can improve quality of life

A study recently published in Diabetes Care by the McGill Artificial Pancreas Lab represents a breakthrough in the understanding of what makes an artificial pancreas system effective. With funding from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the group ran an experiment to deliver a second hormone, pramlintide, in addition to insulin in hopes that the combination would be superior to insulin alone. In the end, the study found that the combination of drugs significantly improved the percentage of time that a person's blood glucose level stayed within a target range. By slowing down meal absorption, pramlintide gave the insulin more time to work.

"I was surprised at the results," Dr. Haidar admits. "I didn't expect the experiment to be this successful." The patients who received both insulin and pramlintide during Dr. Haidar's study reported a high level of satisfaction with the new treatment regime. "By improving their glucose control, we can greatly improve their quality of life," Dr. Haidar explains.

For the McGill Artificial Pancreas Lab, the next frontier is creating a fully automated artificial pancreas that eliminates the burden of having to manually enter carbohydrate numbers and activate the insulin pump at mealtimes. "There has been an enormous amount of interest in the patient community as we develop this second-generation technology," Dr. Haidar shares. As he works to improve the artificial pancreas system, Dr. Haidar thinks of his colleagues living with type 1 diabetes and the patients he encounters every day. "I'm feeling optimistic about what's ahead for them," he reflects. "We're working to make an impact that goes far beyond our lab."

Getting off of the blood sugar roller coaster

For the 250,000 Canadians living with type 1 diabetes, the days of desperately trying to keep their blood sugar stable are coming to an end. A team of researchers at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine is working to optimize an artificial pancreas with the ability to minimize the glucose...

medicalxpress.com

 

[mr peabody]

Why we need to cut back on sugar

by James Muecke | The Conversation | 27 Feb 2020

Humans are physiologically hardwired to love and seek out sweet things. It's an ancient survival mechanism that evolved to prepare our bodies for periods of fasting when food supplies were scarce.

Like nicotine, alcohol and other drugs, sugar activates the reward system in our brains, resulting in the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. It feels good, so we want to do it again.

It can also give us solace when we're down and can alleviate stress, as the dopamine hit counters cortisol, a stress hormone which is released during anxious times.

The problem is, the more sugar we ingest, the more we need to make us feel good. It's a vicious cycle that's hard to break.

Excessive and sustained sugar consumption increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder where the body can't maintain healthy levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood.

Globally, the number of adults with type 2 diabetes, which is related to diet and lifestyle, has quadrupled over the past 40 years. In 2017-18, one million Australians had type 2 diabetes and many more were at risk of developing the condition.

It's not impossible to cut down on sugar. Some strategies require change on a personal level, while others must be taken on by industry and governments.

Personal strategies

At the personal level, it's a matter of slowly winding down our addiction. Going cold turkey would be incredibly difficult, given 75% of our food and drinks have added sugar.

I started omitting the obvious products loaded with sugar—soft drinks, fruit juices, dried fruit, chocolate, candy, ice cream, cakes and sweet biscuits. I stopped sprinkling sugar on my cereal and stirring it into my tea and coffee.

Even these simple strategies gave me withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, headache, sluggish thoughts, and fatigue, which began on the very first day. These symptoms and the cravings were unpleasant but only lasted three days.

Progressing to the next level might include cutting out commercially produced foods that contain excessive amounts of added sugar such as jams, condiments, and most breakfast cereals.

It might also mean cutting out or down on heavily processed products that contain refined carbohydrates such as white flour (white bread, pastries and pasta), white rice, and white potatoes (especially fries and crisps). Such carbs are broken down to glucose in the gut, and are really just another form of sugar consumption.

It helps to be aware of the times we're consuming sugar out of habit, such as eating a bag of sugary treats at the movies or a block of chocolate in front of the TV, or using sugar as a reward for a job well done.

It's also important to be aware of those times when we're using sugar to make us feel better or alleviate stress. The brain doesn't care where it gets its feel-good chemicals from, so try going for a walk, run or cycle, listen to your favourite music playlist, or try doing a good deed instead.

Government response

From a public health perspective, the government must play a pivotal role in helping people cut down on sugar.

Strategies at the government level should be aimed at accessibility, addition and advertising.

Making sweet products less obvious and accessible in supermarkets, delicatessens, post offices and service stations would be a good start. Moving them away from check-out counters means those reflex purchases are less likely to happen.

Second, we need a levy (or a tax) on products containing high levels of added sugar, particularly on sugar-sweetened drinks. There is strong evidence a tax on such drinks would reduce consumption and result in a decline in type 2 diabetes.

Third, a more transparent system for labelling of the added sugar content of products should be implemented. The current health star rating system is only voluntary and is in need of reform.

Fourth, advertising time and space for sugary products should be restricted, as we have done for cigarettes, starting with ads targeting children on TV and social media.

Fifth, powerful and hard-hitting awareness campaigns should be introduced, as we have done for cigarettes. Who could forget those graphic TV adds of tar being poured over lungs or fat being squeezed out of an artery?

Finally, we need a multi-disciplinary think tank to raise awareness about the health dangers of sugar. Such a body could engage endocrinologists (medical doctors who treat diabetes), public health physicians, neuroscientists, nutritionists, marketers, PR experts, and government representatives to deliver clear and united messages.

The sugar industry and the food and beverage industries will need to be included in discussions about reform, but we can't let commercial interests stop us from acting.

Type 2 diabetes is a growing epidemic and one of the nation's biggest health challenges. It's time for Australia to declare war on type 2 diabetes.

Let's 'declare war on type 2 diabetes': Expert discusses why we need to cut back on sugar

Humans are physiologically hardwired to love and seek out sweet things. It's an ancient survival mechanism that evolved to prepare our bodies for periods of fasting when food supplies were scarce.

medicalxpress.com

 

[mr peabody]

Is Alzheimer's a form of Diabetes?

The accumulated evidence is now so strong that many specialists are comfortable referring to Alzheimer's as type 3 diabetes.

Insulin doesn't merely signal the body's somatic cells to take up glucose; it also governs the brain's uptake of glucose. And glucose is what powers the brain. It's the brain's primary energy molecule.

We've known for some time that the brain itself makes a certain amount of insulin, and various parts of the brain are rich in insulin receptors. It's also well established that cognitive decline is correlated with both obesity and metabolic abnormalities involving insulin.

Dr. David Perlmutter lays the blame squarely on diet, and details the case for eating more fats and cholesterol (yes, more cholesterol) and cutting gluten from your diet entirely, pointing to studies that have linked low cholesterol to cognitive impairment.

-Kas Thomas

-----

Studies carried out at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University identified the possibility of a new form of diabetes after finding that insulin resistance can occur in the brain.

Lead researcher, Dr Suzanne de la Monte, carried out a further study in 2012 to further investigate the link.

The researchers pinpoint resistance to insulin and insulin-like growth factor as being a key part of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Whereas type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by hyperglycemia (increased blood sugar), a separate study, carried out by the University of Pennsylvania and published in 2012, excluded people with a history of diabetes, indicating that Alzheimer’s can develop without the presence of significant hyperglycemia in the brain.

People that have insulin resistance, in particular those with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of suffering from Alzheimer's disease estimated to be between 50% and 65% higher.

Researchers have discovered that many type 2 diabetics have deposits of a protein called amyloid beta in their pancreas which is similar to the protein deposits found in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's sufferers.

-diabetes.co.uk

----

New research shows insulin resistance is one of the major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia.

Studies show people with diabetes have a four-fold risk for developing Alzheimer’s. People with pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome have an increased risk for having pre-dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

You don’t have to have full blown type 2 diabetes to develop brain damage and memory loss from high insulin levels and insulin resistance.

-Dr. Mark Hyman​

 

[mr peabody]

Reversing Diabetes with a Plant-Based, Vegan Diet​

 

[mr peabody]

Ayahuasca component Harmine found to restore the body's ability to make insulin*

by Catharine Paddock | Medical News Today | 2 Jan 2019

Scientists have taken a key step in the pursuit of a cure for diabetes that restores the body's ability to make insulin.

They have created a new drug cocktail that can induce insulin-producing cells to regenerate at a rate that is fast enough to work in human treatments.

The recent study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, NY, reveals how a novel combination of two classes of drug can make adult human beta cells replicate at a rate of 5–8 percent per day.

The team reports the findings in a paper that features in the journal Cell Metabolism.

"We are very excited about this new observation," says lead author Dr. Andrew Stewart, who is director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute, "because, for the first time, we are able to see rates of human cell beta cell replication that are sufficient to replenish beta cell mass in human beings."

In earlier work, the team had investigated a small molecule that blocks an enzyme called dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A). This molecule led to a beta cell proliferation rate of 1.5 to 3 percent.

In the new study, the team demonstrated how adding a small molecule from a different class of drug raised the proliferation rate to an average of 5–8 percent. The second drug blocks members of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily (TGFβSF).

However, while the study has taken an important step by showing that the drug combination can regenerate beta cells fast enough for treatment, there is still some work to do.

'Achieved previously unattainable rates'

Dr. Stewart says that none of the drugs currently available for the treatment of diabetes are sufficiently effective in getting human beta cells to regenerate.

Researchers are investigating other approaches, such as transplantation of beta cells or the pancreas and treatments that use stem cells to generate new beta cells. "However, none of these are in widespread use, Dr. Stewart notes."

In the earlier work, he and his colleagues had shown that a DYRK1A inhibitor called harmine was able to stimulate a sustained proliferation of adult human beta cells in laboratory cultures.

In addition, mice with human beta cells in place of their own were able to keep blood sugar levels in the normal range following treatment with harmine.

This was a major step forward. However, the rate of new beta cell production was too low for the treatment to be effective in humans with diabetes.

The researchers got the idea of adding a TGFβSF inhibitor to harmine while they were investigating a type of benign tumor that forms in beta cells. This uncovered a novel set of targets for drugs that might enhance beta cell proliferation.

So, the aim of the recent study was to investigate whether combining the two classes of drug might work — and it did.

The investigators write that the study reveals how blocking "DYRK1A and TGFβSF signaling induces remarkable and previously unattainable rates of human beta cell proliferation [...] and actually increases human and mouse beta cell numbers."

The study also explores the mechanisms behind the "remarkable rate of proliferation." The findings show that the drug combination works "not only in beta cells that scientists recovered from normal cadaveric human islets, but also in beta cells that they grew from human stem cells and those from people with type 2 diabetes."

*From the article here :

Diabetes: Drug duo helps body replenish its insulin-producing cells

A new drug combination that spurs adult human beta cells on to regenerate at an unprecedented 5–8 percent per day is a big step toward a diabetes cure.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[mr peabody]

Drug duo speeds regeneration of key cells lost in Diabetes*

by Serena Gordon | HealthDay | MedicineNet | 6 Apr 2022

A novel combination of two drugs appeared to spur faster regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, a preliminary study in mice and human tissue found.

Beta cells are crucial to making insulin, a hormone that's deficient in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The new drug combo pairs an already approved class of type 2 diabetes medication called GLP-1, with Harmine, a natural β-carboline alkaloid found in Banisteriopsis caapi, a vine used in the preparation of the psychedelic beverage ayahuasca.

"In the United States, 30 million people have diabetes. As many as 80 million have prediabetes. Worldwide, there are 400 million people with diabetes. All of those people have inadequate numbers of beta cells," explained senior study author Dr. Andrew Stewart, Director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Institute in New York City.

Stewart and his team have been working on developing drugs that will make beta cells regenerate. The hope is that if enough beta cells can be created, people won't need any additional diabetes treatment.

In 2015, the researchers found that harmine could coax the beta cells into regenerating. But only about 2% of cells regenerated in a day. "In someone with type 1 diabetes, they've lost about 90% of their beta cells. Two percent a day isn't fast enough," Stewart explained.

The team found another drug that boosted beta cell regeneration, but that drug might have caused significant side effects.

One graduate student and member of Stewart's team from Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine, Courtney Ackeifi, looked at a number of potential drugs to combine with harmine, with the hope of boosting its beta cell regeneration power. A popular class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists (Trulicity, Ozempic, Victoza and others), turned out to offer a potent combination when added to harmine.

"If you combine harmine with any member of the GLP-1s, which are used in millions of people with diabetes, they're converted into beta cell-regenerating drugs that replicate at a rate of 5 to 8% a day," Stewart said.

The study showed that the researchers were able to get normal human beta cells and beta cells from people with type 2 diabetes to regenerate.

The researchers also transplanted human beta cells into mice. When those mice were given the drug combination, the beta cells regenerated. There were no serious short-term side effects in the weeklong treatment.

But whenever medications can prompt cells to replicate, there's always a concern that other cells might also regenerate -- and that's not always a good thing. Stewart said the research team has received a grant from JDRF to study the long-term safety of this drug combination.

The researchers also don't know how long the beneficial effects of the drug combination will last -- and if the effects wear off, how often the treatment might need to be given.

Another issue to be addressed is for people with type 1 diabetes. The autoimmune attack that destroys beta cells and causes type 1 diabetes in the first place may still be ongoing. That means it's possible that any new beta cells created could be destroyed. Research into suppressing this autoimmune attack is ongoing.

One expert not involved with the study called it a novel approach, but had questions.

"This is a very interesting finding," said Matthias Hebrok, director of the University of California, San Francisco Diabetes Center. "The advance is in seeing that a combination of drugs -- one of which is being used in people with diabetes already -- overrides the internal blocks that exist in beta cells to prevent them from proliferating."

Hebrok said as with any study, there are many questions still to be answered. "The biggest concern is that the researchers may be trying to proliferate cells that might be compromised," he said.

"For someone to get type 2 diabetes, beta cells don't function as they should. Most people who are obese don't get diabetes. Their beta cells can keep up with the demand. In type 2, the beta cells are inadequate. Even if you make more, it might not work because you've just increased inadequate cells," Hebrok explained.

Stewart said he is hopeful. "We've gone from thinking this was impossible and undoable just five years ago to showing that substantial increases in the rates of beta cell regeneration are possible. Things are moving at a rate that is unprecedented," he said.

The study was published Feb. 12 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

*From the article here :

Drug Duo Speeds Regeneration of Key Cells Lost in Diabetes

A novel combination of two drugs appeared to spur faster regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, a preliminary study in mice and human tissue found.

www.medicinenet.com

 

[mr peabody]

Associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and diabetes*

Otto Simonsson, Walter Osika, Robin Carhart-Harris & Peter Hendricks | July 2021

The objective of the current study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014), the present study examined the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and two types of cardiometabolic disease: heart disease and diabetes. Respondents who reported having tried a classic psychedelic at least once in their lifetime had lower odds of heart disease in the past year and lower odds of diabetes in the past year (adjusted odds ratio. Classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic diseases.

Introduction

Cardiometabolic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes are leading contributors to the global burden of disease. While pharmacological treatment, intensive lifestyle modification, or both can delay or reverse the development of cardiometabolic diseases, no study has thus far investigated the long-term cardiometabolic effects of classic psychedelics, which could potentially be administered both as a pharmacological treatment and as part of a program to facilitate healthy lifestyle changes.

The term classic psychedelics broadly refers to psychoactive substances known to act as agonists primarily at serotonin 2A receptors, which are often categorized into three main classes: tryptamines, lysergamides, and phenethylamines. Most notably, DMT, and the DMT-containing admixture ayahuasca, and psilocybin; LSD comprises the lysergamide class; and phenethylamines include mescaline and the mescaline-containing cacti peyote and San Pedro. The evidence to date suggests that classic psychedelics have a good risk profile, and that classic psychedelics may also have beneficial effects for a range of physical illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes.

There are several mechanisms through which classic psychedelics might influence cardiometabolic health. First, research suggests that classic psychedelics may facilitate healthy lifestyle changes associated with a beneficial impact on cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., diet, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and exercise). Second, classic psychedelics administered in a safe and supportive setting have been shown to improve mental health conditions associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Third, classic psychedelics have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of importance for both mental and cardiometabolic health. Fourth, classic psychedelics have high affinity to serotonin receptor subtypes associated with cardiometabolic diseases (e.g., serotonin 2A and 2C receptors). In sum, classic psychedelics could have both direct and indirect effects that lead to better cardiometabolic health.

Previous research has found associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and lower odds of being overweight or obese as well as lower odds of having hypertension in the past year, which are risk factors of cardiometabolic disease. Using pooled data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014), the present study therefore sought to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and two types of cardiometabolic disease: heart disease and diabetes. We hypothesized that lifetime classic psychedelic use would be associated with lower odds of heart disease in the past year as well as lower odds of diabetes in the past year.​

Results

Table 1 ~ Percentage of respondents with heart disease or diabetes in the past year
​

Lifetime classic psychedelic use	Heart disease in the past year
	Yes	No
Yes	658	54,077
No	6,495	314,977
Lifetime tryptamine use	Yes	No
Yes	383	39,683
No	6,770	329,371
Lifetime LSD use	Yes	No
Yes	529	36, 836
No	6,624	332,218
Lifetime phenethylamine use	Yes	No
Yes	303	13,007
No	6,850	356,047
Lifetime classic psychedelic use	Diabetes in the past year
	Yes	No
Yes	1,322	53,400
No	12,913	308,532
Lifetime tryptamine use	Yes	No
Yes	722	39,336
No	13,513	322,596
Lifetime LSD use	Yes	No
Yes	1,013	36,341
No	13,222	325,591
Lifetime phenethylamine use	Yes	No
Yes	546	12,758
No	13,689	349,174

Table 1 displays the percentage of respondents reporting heart disease or diabetes in the past year. As seen in the table, the prevalence of heart disease or diabetes in the past year among respondents who had ever used a classic psychedelic was approximately 51% and 52%, respectively, of that among respondents who had never used a classic psychedelic. Notably, the prevalence of heart disease or diabetes in the past year among respondents who had ever used a tryptamine (DMT, ayahuasca, or psilocybin) was approximately 45% and 41%, respectively, of that among respondents who had never used a tryptamine. It is noted, however, that these relationships do not control for the range of potential confounding factors.​

Table 2 ~ Lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases​

Variable​	aOR (95% CI)​	p value​
Heart disease in the past year
Model 1
Lifetime classic psychedelic use	0.77	.006
Model 2
Lifetime tryptamine use	0.85	.152
Lifetime LSD use	0.88	.199
Lifetime phenethylamine use	0.92	.402
Diabetes in the past year
Model 1
Lifetime classic psychedelic use	0.88	.036
Model 2
Lifetime tryptamine use	0.86	.055
Lifetime LSD use	0.92	.236
Lifetime phenethylamine use	1.01	.891

Table 2 presents results from the regressions on the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and heart disease in the past year as well as diabetes in the past year. As illustrated below, lifetime classic psychedelic use was uniquely associated with a 23% lower odds of heart disease in the past year and a 12% lower odds of diabetes in the past year. Among the three main classes of classic psychedelics, neither lifetime tryptamine use, lifetime LSD use, nor lifetime phenethylamine use were uniquely associated with heart disease or diabetes in the past year when simultaneously entered into the regression models, though the association between lifetime tryptamine use and diabetes in the past year approached conventional levels of significance.

Discussion

The results of this national survey-based study showed that lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with both lower odds of heart disease in the past year and lower odds of diabetes in the past year, which indicates that classic psychedelic use might be beneficial for cardiometabolic health. The findings are novel and build on previous findings on the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and various markers of physical health, but there are several limitations inherent in the study design that merit consideration. First, the cross-sectional design used in the present study limits causal inference. The regression models controlled for several potential confounders, but the associations could have been affected by latent variables that were not included in the dataset and could not be controlled for. Second, there was no information in the dataset on the context of classic psychedelic use, dose used, or frequency of use. The analysis could therefore not evaluate context, dose, or frequency-specific associations. Third, the term “heart disease” covers a wide range of conditions and the term “diabetes” can refer to several metabolic disorders, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is therefore possible that associations might vary across types of heart disease and diabetes.

There has been extensive research during the last decades on prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases, including several comprehensive interventions designed to reduce lifestyle risk factors. Yet the potential long-term effects of classic psychedelic use on cardiometabolic health remains largely unknown. The findings in the present study reveal associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and lower odds of heart disease in the past year as well as lower odds of diabetes in the past year. It demonstrates the need for further research to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on cardiometabolic health (i.e., lifestyle changes, mental health benefits, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory characteristics, and affinity to specific serotonin receptor subtypes).

*From the study here :

Associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases - Scientific Reports

The objective of the current study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and cardiometabolic diseases. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005–2014), the present study examined the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic...

www.nature.com

 

[mr peabody]

Peganum harmala
​

Harmine found to induce high rates of human Beta Cell Regeneration in those with Diabetes*

by Jill Murphy | Pharmacy Times | 20 Feb 2020

Combining a drug known to cause beta cells to proliferate with another drug already in widespread use in people with diabetes caused the cells to proliferate at a rate of 5% to 6% per day, according to the study authors.

Harmine is a natural β-carboline alkaloid found in several botanical species, such as the Banisteriopsis caapi vine used in the preparation of the psychedelic beverage ayahuasca and the seeds of Syrian rue (Peganum harmala).

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a novel combination of 2 drug classes that cause the highest rate of proliferation ever observed in adult human beta cells without harming most other cells in the body when together. These data are an important step toward a diabetes treatment that restores the body's ability to produce insulin.

When combining harmine, a drug known to cause beta cells to proliferate, with another drug that is already in widespread use in people with diabetes, it will cause the cells to proliferate at a rate of 5% to 6% per day, according to the study authors.

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys beta cells; this deficiency of functioning beta cells is also an important contributor to type 2 diabetes. In terms of the most recent developments in diabetes research, creating medications that can increase the number of healthy beta cells is the biggest priority.

According to the lead author of the study, Andrew Stewart, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute, none of the drugs currently on the market can induce beta cell regeneration in people with diabetes. Other researchers in the field are studying pancreatic transplantation, beta cell transplantation, and stem cell replacement of beta cells for people with diabetes; however, none of these approaches is in widespread use.

In a 2015 study by Stewart and his team, the results showed that harmine, a drug that inhibits the enzyme dual specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A), induced multiplication of adult human beta cells. In addition, the team also discovered that harmine treatment led to normal control of blood sugar and proliferation in human beta cells. Although the discovery was a major advance in diabetes treatment, the proliferation rate was lower than needed to rapidly expand beta cells in people with diabetes.

In a December 2018 study, Stewart and his team continued to build upon prior research, discovering that DYRK1A inhibitors combined with another drug that inhibits transforming growth factor beta superfamily members (TGFβSF) could cause beta cells to proliferate at a rate of 5% to 8% per day. Even with this rate, TGFβSF would most likely have adverse effects on other organs in the body that would prevent clinical use, according to the authors.

In the February 2020 study, the researchers combined DYRK1A inhibitors, such as harmine, with a class of beta cell-targeting drugs, also known as GLP1R agonists, which are already in widespread use is people with type 2 diabetes. The results showed that in beta cells from people both with and without type 2 diabetes, harmine combined with any of the many GLP1R agonist drugs currently on the market for diabetes yields high rates of human beta cell replication.

“The beauty here is that the combination of DYRK1A inhibitors with GLP1R agonists achieves the highest rate of human beta cell replication possible, and does so in a highly specific way,” said Courtney Ackeifi, postdoctoral fellow in Stewart’s lab and first author of the paper in a prepared statement to Mount Sinai. “This is an important advance in the field of diabetes because we may have found a way to convert a widely used class of diabetes drugs into a potent human beta cell regenerative treatment for all forms of diabetes.”

*From the article here :

New Diabetes Drug Combination Induces High Rates of Human Beta Cell Regeneration

When combining a drug that is known to cause beta cells to proliferate with another drug that is already in widespread use in people with diabetes, it will cause the cells to proliferate at a rate of 5% to 6% per day, according to the study authors.

www.pharmacytimes.com

 

[mr peabody]

Psychoactive plant Harmine may hold the key to reversing diabetes*

A chemical found in ayahuasca has the potential to regenerate pancreas cells that have been lost to diabetes.

by Rachel Barclay | HEALTHLINE

New research published in Nature MedicineTrusted Source may have unlocked a new line of treatment for diabetes.

The researchers honed in on the main culprits in diabetes: beta cells. These cells concentrate in the pancreas in little clusters called islets, and they produce the insulin necessary to keep the body’s blood sugar levels stable.

“In children and adults with type 1 diabetes, they’ve lost 99 percent of their beta cells, so they cannot make enough insulin. That’s the cause of their diabetes,” said Andrew Stewart, director of the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City and senior author of the study, in an interview with Healthline. “People with type 2 diabetes also have about a 50 or 60 percent reduction in their number of beta cells in their pancreas, and so they too cannot make enough insulin.”​

Growing Beta Cells​

Although many drugs exist to control the symptoms of diabetes, there currently is no reliable way to replace beta cells and cure the disease. Stewart joined with lead author Peng Wang and others on a multidisciplinary team to tackle the problem.

“In the world of beta cell regeneration, you can do it in two ways. You can either use stem cells, create stem cells and then transplant them. Or you could take a drug that makes your own beta cells grow,” Stewart explained.

"Although the stem cell transplant research is promising, it involves an invasive procedure and will have difficulty meeting the massive demand," he said.

Diabetes affects more than 20 million AmericansTrusted Source, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The need vastly outstrips the stem cell islet supply,” said Stewart. “It would be simply much simpler to take a pill to make your beta cells grow.”

Using a high-volume screening method, Stewart’s team checked more than 100,000 different chemicals to see which had the potential to make beta cells grow. They identified 86 possible solutions and tested each manually. Of these, a single drug triggered beta cell growth: harmine.

Harmine occurs naturally in a number of plants around the world. It’s one of the ingredients in the psychoactive mixture ayahuasca, which is used by some indigenous people for religious purposes.​

The Path to New Treatments​

To confirm that harmine would cause beta cell growth, the team took islets from the pancreases of deceased human organ donors.

Then, they transplanted the islets into diabetic mice. They used far fewer than were necessary to cure the mice’s diabetes. Dosing the mice with harmine triggered the beta cells to multiply enough that they could restore the mice’s blood sugar levels to normal.

Stewart cautions that harmine itself isn’t the answer. Instead, harmine might inspire similar drugs that hone in on beta cells and leave the rest of the body, especially the brain, alone.

“We have no way to target drugs specifically to human beta cells,” Stewart said. “That’s what we need to do next. We need to figure out a way to get harmine directed to beta cells specifically and to no other tissue.”

It also won’t cure diabetes on its own. Even if the beta cells regrow, there’s still the problem that damaged them in the first place.

For example, in people with type 1 diabetes, the body’s own immune system has attacked and destroyed the beta cells. Without complementary drugs to keep the immune system in check, newly grown beta cells might also be destroyed.

Still, the team’s discovery is another important step toward developing a medication that may someday reverse diabetes.

Stewart adds that this research would not have been possible without the support of the National Institutes of Health and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

*From the article here :

Psychoactive Plant May Hold Key to Reversing Diabetes

A chemical found in ayahuasca has the potential to regenerate pancreas cells that have been lost to diabetes.

www.healthline.com

 

[mr peabody]

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The 5 Best Sugar Substitutes for Baking, according to this baker with Diabetes

And I’ve tried a whole lot of them.

by Carolyn L. Todd | SELF | 2 Jun 2022

As a person with diabetes, a massive sweet tooth, and a set of anti-diet values, sugar and sugar substitutes are something I’ve wrestled with quite a bit. Sugar restriction crashed into my orbit when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven. During my hospital stay, I learned that sugary foods were now a challenge for my body, and found comfort in the candy-red cups of sugar-free Jello that I was allowed to safely enjoy—my first taste of a substance that tasted sweet, but wouldn’t affect my blood glucose like actual sugar.

I came home to a pantry cleared of sweets, soon replaced by sugar-free versions of everything. Sugar-free pudding after school and sugar-free Swiss Miss at bedtime. Sugar-free chocolate Santas on Christmas and bunnies on Easter. At restaurants, little pink and blue packets of white powder mixed in with lemon water for sugar-free lemonade.

In theory, these sugar-free treats satisfied my sweet tooth without spiking my blood sugar. In reality, they delivered an artificial approximation of the real thing that tasted just close enough to what I really wanted—without ever actually hitting the spot—that I kept coming back for more. But as I got older, I was increasingly turned off by the saccharine overload, icky aftertaste (hello, aspartame), serious stomach upset (thanks, sugar alcohols), and sense of perpetual dissatisfaction. By my mid-teens, I admitted to myself that the miraculous promise of sugar substitutes was too good to be true after all, and all but cut them out.

Today, sugar substitutes and I are on happier terms. First, I now eat plenty of the real thing. I think the demonization of sugar in recent years—similarly to the austere medical guidance I received as a kid—has done real harm to people’s relationships with food. I firmly believe that eating real sugar every damn day can be part of a balanced and varied diet, people with diabetes very much included. At the same time, it’s a biological reality that processing a large amount of sugar is different for me. A healthy pancreas can handle an influx of simple sugars no problem, but the insulin pump I use to try and mimic my pancreas is imperfect. (Even if I precisely calculate and time my insulin dose, my blood sugar can soar.)

Sometimes this trade-off is 100% worth it, and sometimes I want to enjoy a tray of homemade brownies without worrying about my blood sugar or feeling like crap shortly after—which is where sugar substitutes come in handy. “Sugar alternatives can be a helpful tool to add sweetness without the blood sugar spikes of actual sugar,” Hailey Crean, RD, a Boston-based certified diabetes care and education specialist and certified intuitive eating counselor, tells SELF.

While I still generally avoid most sugar-free packaged foods, sugar substitutes have become a helpful (and fun!) ingredient in one of my favorite hobbies: baking. I love creatively tinkering with recipes—muffins, quick breads, cookies, bars—to lower the final product’s glycemic load (impact on my blood sugar) without sacrificing taste. I often swap out anywhere from one fourth to three fourths of the sugar in a recipe for a sugar substitute (in addition to adding yummy sources of blood sugar-friendly fiber, like nuts, fruit, and whole wheat flour). While it depends on the sweetener and the recipe, I generally notice very modest effects on my blood sugar (and digestive system), and the baking results are excellent.

Originally, I felt conflicted about using sugar substitutes because I worried it clashed with my anti-diet stance and intuitive eating aspirations. But I realized that shunning sugar alternatives because I feel like I should mirrors the black-and-white thinking around food that makes diet culture so harmful. Today I embrace the nuance of being an anti-diet diabetic sweets lover and see sugar substitutes not as a silver bullet but a tool for helping me find balance with priorities that can sometimes feel in competition: enjoying food and my life while also taking care of my body. As Crean puts it, “For someone living with diabetes, we ideally want to keep the diet as liberal and enjoyable as possible while still keeping blood sugar in mind. Using sugar alternatives can sometimes support this goal.”

Of course everyone’s body and relationship with food is different, and the physical effects and emotional implications of sugar substitutes are very individualized, Courtney Darsa, RD, a Manhattan-based certified diabetes care and education specialist and owner of Nourishing NY, tells SELF. It really depends on the person’s health history, food history, tolerance for various sweeteners, and preferences.

Darsa’s advice is to pay close attention to how sugar substitutes affect your system in a holistic way—from your blood sugar’s response to gastrointestinal issues to your sense of satisfaction—to learn what’s best for you. After eating sugar substitutes, “ask yourself, ‘How do I feel, mentally, physically, and emotionally?’” Darsa advises. If you have diabetes and/or other challenges surrounding sugar, it’s best to discuss all this with a health care provider who understands how sugar substitutes can impact your body and well-being, like an endocrinologist, registered dietitian, or certified diabetes care and education specialist.

All that said, if you are looking to experiment with sweet alternatives in the kitchen (or just in your morning coffee), then let’s talk about the best sugar substitutes. There are a ton of options on the market today, and I’ve sampled a lot of them. Thankfully, the overall quality has improved significantly over the last couple of decades—thank you, science!—and many come much closer to the real thing than the Splendas, liquid stevias, and maltitols of years past. Again, these recommendations are based on my personal experience, but you should trust your gut, monitor your blood sugar, and consult your health care team (and taste buds!) about what works for you. Here are my favorite sugar substitutes.

All-Purpose In The Raw Optimal Sweetener Blend

Blends like this one have a couple of advantages over single-ingredient sweeteners in baking. For one, they leave the tinkering with combinations and proportions of different sugar substitutes—often necessary for achieving the optimal taste and baking properties—to the food scientists. In my experience, they also cut back on the risk of an offensive aftertaste. This particular blend is dominated by erythritol, a type of sugar alcohol that research suggests, in moderation, is generally better tolerated (kinder to your G.I. tract) than others and affects blood sugar minimally, SELF has reported. (This is true for me as long as I don’t overdo it but, again, everybody is unique—so listen to your body.) Also containing the unique sweetener allulose (more on that in a minute) and plant-derived high-intensity sweeteners stevia leaf extract and monk fruit extract, this product measures, bakes, and tastes much like good ol’ granulated sugar and has helped me make some excellent brownies and banana bread.​

Wholesome Allulose

For a single-ingredient sweetener, this granulated allulose is my go-to. Naturally occurring in small amounts in some plants (like raisins), allulose is actually not a sugar substitute but a “rare sugar” with the same molecular formula as the simple sugars glucose and fructose, as SELF has reported. (Since most of the molecules are not broken down by our digestive system, though, evidence indicates that allulose appears to have a small impact on blood sugar.) And because allulose is chemically so close to regular sugar, it bakes extremely well—measuring, holding moisture, and even caramelizing much like regular sugar. Taste-wise, the flavor profile is familiar, but slightly less sweet than real sugar (about 30% less, Crean says). It’s awesome for cookies.

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Miss Jones Baking Co. SmartSugar Coconut Sugar Blend

I don’t love swapping out 100% of the sugar in a recipe because the properties of sugar are often integral to chemical and physical reactions in the baking process, as SELF has explained—and the more you swap out, the higher the odds of a baking fail. This unique blend, created specifically for baking, has become one of my favorites—it’s half real sugar, half sugar substitutes. The first ingredient is finely ground coconut sugar, which has a toasty, brown sugar-like flavor that I prefer to white sugar. The rest is a mixture of starches and alternative sweeteners that provide bulk and sweetness: chicory root or tapioca fiber, tapioca syrup, and monk fruit extract. Used cup-for-cup in place of sugar, it bakes like a dream, especially in muffins and quick breads. (The brand’s cane sugar blend is excellent too.)
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All-u-Lose Natural Maple Flavor Syrup

100% pure maple syrup may be my favorite sweet taste in the world and nothing can compete with it. That said, a couple of tablespoons of the stuff on pancakes will reliably make my blood sugar skyrocket, which is a horrible way to start the day. I first used this syrup—made with allulose and natural maple flavor—on waffles, mixed in equal parts with the real stuff. (While the taste hits the mark, the thin texture misses the inimitable viscosity of the real thing.) I’ve since baked with it in recipes that call for liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, or agave. It imparts a lovely, warm maple flavor to muffins and granola bars, and the thinness is less of an issue in baking—though I’ll still use some amount of real maple syrup for optimal taste and texture results.
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King Arthur Baking Company Baking Sugar Alternative

I was psyched when I first saw this blend at the store—the King Arthur brand is revered among home bakers as a supplier of high-quality ingredients—and this beautifully blended 1:1 sugar replacement does not disappoint. The finely tuned formula uses a whole bunch of ingredients—erythritol, soluble corn fiber, allulose, cane sugar-derived fructan fiber, monk fruit extract, natural flavor, and stevia leaf extract—to approximate the volume, taste, and baking properties of sugar. I’ve used it in brownies and berry-oat bars with great success. (The one potential drawback is that you’re not supposed to use it at temperatures above 350 degrees Fahrenheit, but that’s not a problem in most of my baking.)

Carolyn covers all things health and nutrition at SELF. Her definition of wellness includes lots of yoga, coffee, cats, meditation, self help books, and kitchen experiments with mixed results.
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I’m a Home Baker with Diabetes and Swear by These Sugar Substitutes

I’ve tried a whole lot of them.

www.self.com