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Potential diabetes treatments are often reported on, but every so often some rather more unusual drugs make the headlines.
There are a number of drugs with hallucinogenic properties that have been linked to treating diabetes, with one of these being harmine.
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States observed that harmine – known for its psychoactive effects on the brain – triggered beta cell growth and could be a diabetes treatment target.
Type 1 diabetes is characterised by beta cell destruction in the immune system, while beta cell deficiency has been noted as a contributor to type 2 diabetes.
When the researchers transplanted pancreatic islet cells into diabetic mice, harmine treatment tripled the number of beta cells and restored the blood sugar levels of the mice to normal.
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Dextromethorphan (DXM) is another drug that can result in hallucinogenic effects when advised doses are exceeded. It is often used recreationally.
However, German researchers Heinrich Heine University observed that DXM, which is found in over-the-counter cough medicines, increased insulin release in mice.
They subsequently conducted a human study involving 20 participants and found an increase in serum insulin concentrations and reduction in glucose levels.
While researchers have advised caution over their findings, they hope that further clinical trials will establish if DXM could be a viable form of diabetes treatment.
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A drug well known for its psychoactive chemicals that affect the brain is cannabis – the most used illicit drug in the world.
While cannabis is largely used recreationally, studies have investigated its effect on diabetes.
The American Alliance for Medical Cannabis has suggested that cannabis could help stabilise blood sugars, ease the pain of neuropathy and reduce the risk of diabetes complications.
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Experimentation with drugs has also seen interesting recent developments at Yale University. Their research team have been investigating a First World War chemical to potentially reverse type 2 diabetes.
This chemical is mitochondrial protonophore 2, 4-dinitrophenol, also known as DNP. It was used more than 70 years ago by munitions factory workers to make explosives, but caused workers to lose weight and experience high temperatures.
After studying the effects of DNP, Yale researchers used a model 100-fold lower than toxic levels to burn away fat and sugar in rodents with type 2. This loss of body weight can be a key element in reversing type 2 diabetes which takes the strain off insulin-producing cells.
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