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Insulin is not fate. Why this treatment can save lives - voila! health

2022-10-03T07:13:57.388Z


So how exactly does insulin affect our body, why is it so important to diabetics, and how has it evolved over the past 100 years? Here are all the answers


Insulin is not fate.

Why this treatment can save lives

The invention of insulin (100 years ago!) turned diabetes from an incurable disease into one that can be lived with, and even cured.

So how exactly does insulin affect our body, and how has it evolved over the past 100 years?

Here are all the answers

In collaboration with Sanofi

02/10/2022

Sunday, 02 October 2022, 16:19 Updated: Monday, 03 October 2022, 09:10

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"One of the most phenomenal inventions of the last 150 years in medicine."

A man holding an insulin syringe (Photo: ShutterStock)

Many people think that if they start taking insulin, they will have to continue with it forever and suffer side effects, but this is not quite true.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the invention of insulin, a drug that changed the world, and this is exactly the opportunity to bust some myths surrounding the drug.



Prof. Tali Zuckerman-Yepa, from the center for the treatment and research of diabetes in the elderly at Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, explains that insulin is one of the most phenomenal inventions of the last 150 years in medicine.

According to her, in the past diabetes was an incurable disease, and patients with type 1 diabetes would live two or three years with a terrible quality of life - and then die.

Thanks to insulin, the disease has become such that you can live a good long life with it.

What is insulin?

Insulin is a hormone.

Hormones are actually the form in which there is a connection between different systems in the body.

"Insulin's role is to tell the cells to 'open the gates and let glucose in,' and this is critical because glucose is our source of energy, the energy molecules are produced from glucose, and when this does not happen - the cells are starved and have nothing to produce energy," explained Prof. Zuckerman-Yapa. And added that our brain is very dependent on glucose, and can use very little other forms of energy.

When diabetics inject themselves with insulin, they are actually receiving this vital hormone externally.

Who needs insulin?

Insulin is the only cure for type 1 diabetes (formerly mistakenly called 'juvenile diabetes').

In this type of the disease, patients suffer from a lack of insulin production in the body.

In type 2 diabetes there is a relative lack of insulin, so the picture is more complex.

This type of disease has several types of treatments.

"Because in type 2 diabetes there is a relative lack of insulin, the cells require much more insulin for the same amount of glucose, and the pancreas tries to keep up and produce more and more until at a certain point it fails to produce the required amount," explained Prof. Zuckerman-Yepa, "Therefore, The drugs we have for diabetes, on the one hand, reduce this increased consumption of insulin, and in another mechanism - they give more insulin."

According to her, in type 2 diabetes the role of insulin is in situations where there is a deficiency.

How has insulin changed in the last 100 years?

The world of diabetes has taken a big turn in recent years following her invention of basal insulin - long-acting insulin.

This development mimics the natural secretion of insulin in the body.

"Our body, the pancreas, secretes insulin continuously. All the time there is a certain level of insulin that is secreted into the bloodstream, but when we eat, when we need to put a lot of glucose into the cells, there is a secretion of a large amount of insulin," explained Prof. Zuckerman-Yepa, " When we talk about supplementing the lack of insulin for type 2 diabetes patients, many times it is enough for us to supplement the need for basal, continuous insulin, and the body knows how to fill the gap."

"The secret in diabetes is to reach a balance" (Photo: Walla Studio! NEWS, AP, Reuters, Getty Images, Shutterstock)

She added that today there are very long-acting and very safe insulins, and that they have changed the way diabetes patients are treated, making it simpler and with fewer side effects.

"The secret in diabetes is to reach a balance. The uniqueness of long-acting insulin is that it makes up for the deficiency in a very safe way, and many times it is the only treatment that can help," said Prof. Zuckerman-Yepa.

"Today there are also ultra-long insulins, beyond 24 hours. Although they are still injected once a day, their duration of action is longer, so the chance of side effects due to a delay in injection decreases."

Is insulin destiny?

Do you have to stay on the same dose for life?

"There are situations in which a person is diagnosed with high sugar values, and there is no other way to lower his sugar levels except by giving a large amount of insulin. Sometimes after a certain period the pancreas recovers and the treatment changes, but at the beginning with the diagnosis, it is necessary," explained Prof. Zuckerman-beautiful

What are the side effects of insulin?

The main side effect of diabetics treated with insulin is hypoglycemia - a drop in the sugar levels in the body.

"This is actually one of the reasons why they developed the ultra-long insulin. With these treatments, the fear of hypoglycemia is reduced to a minimum," said Prof. Zuckerman-Yefa, "The pancreas is an amazing organ, it knows how to secrete the exact amount of insulin so that on the one hand there will be no hypoglycemia and on the other hand there will be no Sugar values ​​are high, but when you give insulin from the outside, there is always a fear of inaccuracy and error. Fortunately, with long-acting insulin, the chances of this phenomenon occurring are extremely low."

Diabetes in the third age

The ultra-long insulins are of great importance in the elderly population where the fear of hypoglycemia is greater.

The concept of treating diabetes in the third age has changed in the last decade and now it is clear that the treatment should be guided by biological age and not chronological age.

In fact, it is necessary to assess the physical and cognitive condition (learning, memory and thinking abilities) of the adult with diabetes, outline the treatment plan according to this condition, and use interventions that can reduce the rate of deterioration in these areas.



The response to diabetic patients in the third age has greatly improved in recent years, and today there is a multidisciplinary program for a healthy life with diabetes that gives patients aged 60 plus a unique and comprehensive response that integrates all the physical, mental and cognitive aspects of the disease.

The purpose of the program is to improve the quality of life of diabetic patients and their family members by maintaining health, physical strength, normal functioning as well as thinking, memory and learning abilities. For more details, you can call 03-5307493 (select 8 on the call router) or email D360@sheba. health.gov.il



For more information or questions, contact the attending physician



Served as a public service on behalf of Sanofi

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Tags

  • diabetes mellitus

  • Juvenile Diabetes

  • insulin

Source: walla

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