A "neglected" diabetic patient? All is not lost

A new study in Bilinson: 3 months of significant adherence to diet, physical activity and drug treatment among severe and "neglected" diabetes patients can repair damage caused during the years of the disease

A new study in Bilinson: 3 months of significant adherence to diet, physical activity and drug treatment among severe and "neglected" diabetes patients can repair damage caused during the years of the disease.

Diabetic patients need to adhere to diet and physical fitness and take medication to avoid the complications of the disease, however many patients who suffer from the disease to an extreme and for a long time tend to ignore the instructions on the grounds that it is a lost battle in advance.

Diabetes affects, among other things, the progenitor cells that originate in the bone marrow, one of whose functions is to repair tissue damage, especially blood vessels. The damage to the stem cells significantly increases the risk of having heart and brain events.

Prof. Eli Lev, Director of the Catheter Service at Hasharon Hospital, and Dr. Joel Singer, Director of the Diabetes Service at the Endocrinology Institute at Beilinson Hospital, followed a group of severely unbalanced diabetes patients with high glycated hemoglobin ((A1C) 9.5%). The severe diabetics began an intensive three-month training program, during which they met frequently with a multidisciplinary team including an endocrinologist, a nurse and a dietician who adjusted their diet,
Instruct them on how to adjust the medication and insulin dosage they consume to the food they eat and the level of physical activity they perform and ask them to perform self-sugar tests more frequently.

The most significant finding was that among all the patients who took part in the study, there was a marked improvement in glucose balance and a dramatic increase in the production of the number of cells responsible for repairing tissue damage and their function was recorded. That is, it is possible to cause an increase in the levels and function of cells that are important for repairing damage in blood vessels and various tissues in the body.

Prof. Eli Lev: "So far it has been proven that by carefully balancing diabetes it is possible to prevent damage to tissues such as the eyes and kidneys, however there is a dispute regarding the effect on preventing damage to the heart and brain. Although our study did not test a direct effect of diabetes balance on different tissues, however,

Through the beneficial effect on the stem cells that we mentioned, it may be possible in the future to prevent or reduce damage to organs such as the heart, brain and large blood vessels."

Dr. Joel Singer: "I hope that this research will give strength and hope to the millions of diabetes patients in the world who suffer from the disease for a long time to adhere to a healthier lifestyle and take medication and will emphasize the effectiveness of therapeutic education for diabetes patients for the success of the treatment"

The laboratory research carried out by Dr. Dorit Leshem Lev from the Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory at the Felsenstein Center for Medical Research in Bilinson, the diabetes clinic in Bilinson Hospital and funded by the Caesarea Foundation for Research, proves that intensive treatment of diabetes and balancing the level of glycated hemoglobin (A1C) can significantly improve Realize the level and function of the cells responsible for repairing tissue damage, and thus it is possible and possible to significantly reduce the risk of cardiac and cerebrovascular events among diabetics.