Treating Diabetes without Drugs! Scientists Develop New Ultrasound Method to Treat or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes
Medically Reviewed By
Dr Divya Rohra
Written By Srujana Mohanty
on Apr 21, 2022
Last Edit Made By Srujana Mohanty
on Jan 23, 2025
Millions of people globally are diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes each year. As a result, researchers are consistently looking into assistive therapies to find more long-term treatment options.
A new multi-institutional study led by Yale School of Medicine has demonstrated and highlighted the use of ultrasound to trigger a few neurometabolic pathways to treat, prevent or reverse the incidence of Type-2 diabetes in three defined pre-clinical trials.
The study was researched in the lab of Raimund Herzog, MD, MHS, at the Yale School of Medicine.
Post the pre-clinical trials, the researchers are now conducting human feasibility trials with Type-2 diabetes patients. The primary objective behind the study is to develop new strategies for diabetes management without consistent blood sugar tests, injections and drug therapies.
Researchers are also looking into more long-term treatment options to treat the condition and reverse it eventually in the patients.
Type-2 diabetes affects millions of people and contributes to chronic illnesses like kidney failure, blindness, heart attacks, strokes and even neuropathies.
The lead researcher in the study, Raimund Herzog, is an associate professor (endocrinology) in the Department of Internal Medicine at YSM. Highlighting their findings, Herzog says that even though we have access to a diversity of anti-diabetic medications, researchers are still consistently working to find more long-term treatment options to enhance insulin sensitivity in patients.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh3RbqInKLSM4jao0TkdeIcWp2cstUWk2[/embed]
There are only a handful of medications that significantly lower the insulin levels in the bloodstream. However, Herzog reports that if their pre-clinical study’s conclusions are correct and conclusive, ultrasound techniques can lower the insulin and glucose levels in the bloodstream.
Herzog says that the potential of ultrasound neuromodulation is quite an exciting breakthrough in diabetes treatment.
The reported findings from the study contribute to significant improvements in bioelectronic medicine. This field is consistently exploring new ways to treat different chronic illnesses by modulating the nervous system.
Taking a step further from the pre-clinical trials, the researchers are now investigating different intensities and dosages of the ultrasound pulse on diabetes patients. They are also recording the length of the treatment involved. The results from those studies should be available later in the year.
