Scientists have developed a cure for diabetes using ultrasound

Researchers have demonstrated the ability to prevent or reverse the development of diabetes. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

Are we getting closer to the day when diabetes will no longer be monitored and controlled with blood sugar tests, insulin injections and medication?

A GE Research-led team that includes the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, Yale School of Medicine, and Albany Medical College has demonstrated the ability to prevent or reverse diabetes in three different preclinical studies. model systems. The team reported their findings in the latest issue of the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The reported results represent a milestone in the field of bioelectronic medicine, which is exploring new ways to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes using electronic devices to modulate the body’s nervous system.

More than 650 million adults worldwide are obese, often making them vulnerable to a range of comorbidities, and despite the urgent need for treatment, there are currently no specific long-term therapeutic approaches. In obesity, pro-inflammatory markers such as cytokine proteins are associated with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In addition, obesity leads to decreased vagus nerve activity and metabolic dysfunction.

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For the past 6 years, GE Research has pioneered ultrasound-based bioelectronic medicine by developing a new non-invasive stimulation method that uses ultrasound to stimulate specific nerve pathways in disease-related organs. The diabetes research reported in the Nature Biomedical Engineering article was supported in part by the Biological Technology Office (BTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Christopher Pouleo, a senior biomedical engineer at GE Research who led the diabetes research and author of a related paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering, is encouraged by the progress the team has made to demonstrate this potential new treatment for diabetes, stating: “In these preclinical studies, we have shown that ultrasound can be used to prevent or treat diabetes. We are now in the midst of human trials with a cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes who are beginning our work on clinical implementation.”

“The use of ultrasound could change the way bioelectronic drugs are used and applied to treat diseases such as type 2 diabetes in the future,” Pouleo added. “Non-pharmaceutical and device-based methods to supplement or replace existing drug therapies may add new therapeutic choices for clinicians and patients in the future.”

Pictured (left to right): Victoria Kotero of GE Research, Senior Research Fellow in Biosciences; Geoffrey Ash, Senior Electrical Engineer; and Christopher Pouleo, Senior Biomedical Engineer, around the GE Research Lab’s Ultrasonic Modulation Device Prototype at the Niskayun, New York Research Campus. (LETTER: General Electric)

From the very beginning of this diabetes research, it has been a truly collaborative team effort by all partners to achieve the outstanding progress that has been made to date. From the first GE studies showing initial results using ultrasonic device prototypes with diabetic models; The work then expanded through a DARPA-funded program.

This was followed by additional work at partner centers on: specific ion channels associated with ultrasonic effects in in vitro cultures (UCLA Samueli School of Engineering; Di Carlo Laboratory); direct effect of ultrasonic stimulation on nerve activity using recording electrodes (Albany Medical College; Shin Lab); testing the effect of ultrasound treatment on the second and third models (Feinstein Institute for Medical Research (FIMR); Chavan and S. Zanos Labs); and magnitude of effect on blood glucose levels using quantitative glucose fixation methods (Yale School of Medicine, Herzog and FIMR, S. Zanos Lab).

Ultrasound technology can be used to modulate the body’s nervous system. (LETTER: General Electric)

Sangita Chavan, Ph.D. (Professor at the Feinstein Institute’s Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine and one of the paper’s lead authors), said: “There is no long-term clinical cure for diabetes. This exciting research is an important step forward in using a new approach using ultrasound stimulation and bioelectronic medicine to alleviate and potentially reverse a disease that affects millions of people worldwide.”

Stavros Zanos, MD (Associate Professor at the Feinstein Institute’s Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine and one of the paper’s lead authors) said: “In addition to demonstrating a potential therapy for diabetes, this paper begins to mechanistically connect the short- and long-term physiological and metabolic effects of neuromodulation, the missing link being as we understand, optimize and clinically apply neuromodulation therapy.”

Raimund Herzog, MD, MHS, Associate Professor (Endocrinology) in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Yale Diabetes Research Center. “While we already have a wide variety of antidiabetic drugs to treat high glucose levels, we are always looking for new ways to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes.

Unfortunately, there are currently very few drugs that can do this. If our ongoing clinical trials confirm the promise of the preclinical studies described in this article and ultrasound can be used to lower insulin and glucose levels, ultrasound neuromodulation will be an exciting and entirely new addition to current treatment options for our patients. .”

Dino Di Carlo, study co-author and professor of bioengineering at the UCLA School of Engineering, said: “Our research shows that focused ultrasound activates neurons through ion channels that are sensitive to mechanical forces. This is a completely new way of interacting with our body and treating diseases.”

Damian S. Shin, Ph.D., interim chairman and assistant professor of neuroscience and experimental therapy at the Albany College of Medicine, said, “The results of this collaborative effort are truly impressive. If confirmed, our work could lead to an innovative non-invasive treatment for type 2 diabetes. We are proud to have helped lay the groundwork for future clinical research.”

Victoria Kotero (lead author of the study from GE) noted that the results, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, showed that the non-invasive GE stimulation method using ultrasound was effective in both genetic and dietary models of type 2 diabetes. In both cases, treatment was able to improve both glucose tolerance and insulin resistance.

Geoffrey Ash (project senior electrical engineer) said: “One of the factors that the GE Research team is still determining is the frequency of treatment needed to maintain the regression of diabetes under various stimulation settings.” In these studies, the team found that regular short sessions (i.e. 3 minutes each day) led to long-term maintenance of normal blood glucose levels.

Following the published preclinical studies, GE Research and its collaborators were involved in additional preclinical and initial clinical studies investigating the effects of alternating dosages (eg, ultrasound pulse type and duration of treatment). The group will report on these studies later this year.

For more science news, visit our New Innovations section at The bright side of the news.

Note: Materials provided by GE Research. Content can be edited for style and length.

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