Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes in India
Are you still craving for that one piece of chocolate cake in the fridge? Are you tired of all the routine checkups and pricking yourself repeatedly for a blood test? Are you still finding it an economic burden to take medicines year after year?
You can now say goodbye to this hasty life!
Enjoy your daughter’s birthday party cake with her by getting yourself treated for diabetes using Stem cell therapy in India.
Stem cell therapy provides a one-stop cost-effective solution for diabetes providing long-term therapeutic benefits.
Let’s understand how it works.
Diabetes is a silent killer and if left untreated can lead to serious complications. According to WHO, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the majority of these people live in low-and middle-income countries.
Moreover, diabetes directly contributes to 1.6 million deaths each year, making it one of the leading causes of death globally. The biggest reason for worry is that the prevalence of diabetes has increased steadily over the past few decades.
It is very important to control diabetes to live a healthy and longer life. Diabetes untreated properly can lead to other complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and erectile dysfunction.
The unfortunate part of diabetes is that the patient has to live constantly on medications with a compromised lifestyle, including a sex life. However, few smart patients are able to reverse their diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus which is also known as diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar levels, which is also called, blood glucose are too high. This rise in your blood sugar level over time can lead to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.
Glucose is the main source of energy in your body which comes from the food that you eat.
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas (a gland in the body) that helps glucose and sugars get into your cells which can be used for energy production.
When your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or when your body cannot use insulin effectively this can ultimately lead to the accumulation of the sugar in the bloodstream causing diabetes.
Let’s now understand what are the types of diabetes in detail.
What are the different types of Diabetes?
The most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common among them followed by Type 1 diabetes. Let’s check the different types:
The pancreas cannot produce enough insulin because the body’s immune system has attacked those cells in the pancreas responsible for its production.
Insulin is taken daily to keep blood sugar levels under control in people suffering from type 1 diabetes. The disease generally appears during childhood.
In Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas makes less insulin and your body has become resistant to it. It mainly occurs when your body can’t use insulin properly.
Roughly 90 percent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that is diagnosed for the first time in an individual during pregnancy or gestation.
It affects the way your cells use sugar. It is a type of diabetes characterized by high glucose levels, which can easily become a problem for both you and your baby’s good health during pregnancy.
Generally, this type of diabetes goes after the delivery, but there is a possibility that a few people might develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
There exist some other types of diabetes such as:
- Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY): It is monogenic diabetes that is mild and asymptomatic in nature. It is most commonly seen in non-obese children, youngsters, and adults.
- Neonatal diabetes: It is a rare form of diabetes that happens within the first 6 months of life.
- Wolfram Syndrome: It is a type of diabetes that is passed down from various generations in a family which causes insulin-dependent diabetes since childhood with worsening vision damage.
- Alström Syndrome: It is a condition that involves progressive loss of vision and hearing ability, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and weakening of the heart.
- Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA): It is a condition that begins in childhood when your body starts attacking its own insulin-producing cells. This condition begins in childhood and may not require insulin externally for controlling the sugar levels for the first 6 months after getting diagnosed.
What causes Diabetes?
Each type of diabetes has a different set of causes:
When the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, the natural insulin-production capability of the body ends. And hence external insulin is to be provided to the body.
At times, genes also play a role in some people.
Further, sometimes viral infections trigger immune system attacks.
Type 2 diabetes is a combination of genetics and lifestyle factors. Obesity or being overweight increases your risk. Extra weight, especially around the midsection, makes your cells more resistant to insulin’s effects on blood sugar.
This is a genetic condition that runs in families. Family members have genes that increase their chances of developing type 2 diabetes and being overweight.
Gestational diabetes is a condition that develops as a result of hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. The placenta secretes hormones that make a pregnant woman’s cells more resistant to insulin’s effects. During pregnancy, this can lead to high blood sugar levels.
Pregnant women who are overweight or gain too much weight during pregnancy are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.
Let’s understand the different signs and symptoms that diabetes causes.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
The most common symptoms of diabetes are:
- Increase in the frequency of urination
- Being very thirsty
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Looking thinner or losing weight
- Genital itching
- Cuts and wounds take longer time to heal than usual
- Blurred vision
- Increased hunger
Additional symptoms that can be seen are:
- Symptoms in men:
Men with diabetes have decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction (ED), and poor muscle strength.
- Symptoms in women:
Women with diabetes have urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and dry, itchy skin.
What are the risk factors for Diabetes?
The risk factors for diabetes can vary depending on its type. Hence, the risk factors are explained in detail below:
This can involve a family history of diabetes wherein having a parent or sibling with type 1 diabetes.
You can get type 1 diabetes at any age but it usually develops from the childhood.
This can include the following factors:
- Being overweight
- Age 45 years or more
- Physically inactive lifestyle
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- History of gestational diabetes
You are prone to get gestational diabetes if you are under the following risk factors:
- Gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy
- Overweight
- Age more than 25 years
- Family history of type 2 diabetes
- Hormone disorder called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
What are the tests for diagnosing Diabetes?
For diagnosing diabetes you need to get your blood sugar level tested to identify and differentiate between the different types of diabetes. Following is the list of examinations required to diagnose diabetes.
The amount of sugar in your blood for the past three months is checked by the HbA1c test. If it is found at the higher end of the range, this shows poor control of blood sugar hence it is an indication that you have diabetes. This is given as:
| Condition | Range |
| Normal | Less than 5.7% |
| Prediabetes | 5.7% to 6.4% |
| Diabetes | More than 6.5% |
This test measures your blood sugar after an overnight fasting state.
An empty stomach blood sugar level of:
| Condition | Range |
| Normal | Less than 99 mg/dL |
| Prediabetes | 100 to 125 mg/dL |
| Diabetes | More than 126 mg/dL |
In this test blood sugar level is tested before and after you drink glucose. Before the test, you will fast (not eat) overnight and have your blood drawn to determine your fasting blood sugar level. After that, you’ll drink the liquid and have your blood sugar checked in one hour, two hours, and possibly three hours later.
At 2 hours after the intake, a blood sugar level of:
| Condition | Range |
| Normal | Less than 140 mg/dL |
| Prediabetes | 140 to 199 mg/dL |
| Diabetes | More than 200 mg/dL |
This test measures your blood glucose level at any time of the day irrespective of your timing of food intake. A blood sugar level of 200 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes.
Let’s learn what are the conventional treatment options for diabetes available in India.
Conventional treatment for Diabetes in India
Below are some of the conventional treatments for different types of diabetes:
The absence of insulin in the body is the leading cause of type 1 diabetes. Hence, the conventional treatment for type 1 diabetes involves externally injecting insulin into the body. People suffering from type 1 diabetes require insulin injections lifelong.
Insulin also has its type. These types depend on factors such as the onset time of their action after they are injected into the body and how long they work inside the body after getting injected.
| Type of insulin | Onset time | Effects Last for |
| Rapid-acting insulin | Within 15 minutes | 3 to 4 hours |
| Short-acting insulin | Within 30 minutes | 6 to 8 hours |
| Intermediate-acting insulin | Within 1 to 2 hours | 12 to 18 hours |
| Long-acting insulin | A few hours after the injection | 24 hours or longer |
Type 2 diabetes can be managed at its initial stages with the help of diet, exercise, and modifying the lifestyle.
If diet and exercise are not enough to lower your blood sugar level, you will need oral hypoglycemic agents or medications.
Advanced stages of type 2 diabetes involving complications may also require insulin injections.
You’ll need to monitor your blood sugar level several times a day during pregnancy. Dietary changes and exercise may or may not be enough to bring it down if it’s high.
These are the treatment options available for diabetes but what could be the associated side effects, let’s understand this.
What are the side effects of the conventional treatment?
The medications or Insulin helps to manage the blood glucose levels.
In some cases, one or more of the following side effects are observed.
- Low blood sugar – also known as hypoglycemia.
- Weight gain
- Tiredness or dizziness
- Upset stomach
- Skin rash or itching
- Kidney complications
- Metal taste
- Gas, bloating, and diarrhoea
There are some other Alternative treatment options for diabetes in India. These are discussed below.
Alternative Treatment Option for Diabetes in India
This involves a variety of ayurvedic treatments which are:
Ayurvedic Treatments for Diabetes
Ayurveda is known for its approach which is identifying the root cause and solving it with herbal medication. It doesn’t focus on immediate suppression of symptoms and hence the results are often slow but long-lasting.
Ayurveda addresses the root cause of the disease. It begins by detoxifying the body so that medicines can work better towards treating the actual root cause of the disease. Along with medication, Ayurveda equally focuses on your diet & lifestyle.
Let’s understand the most advanced and best diabetes treatment in India.
Advanced Treatment Option for Diabetes in India
Diabetes is a chronic illness and can require long-term medical care and patient self-management to prevent and reduce the risk of further complications. Advanced options discussed in this section help to attain better therapeutic outcomes at optimal cost.
What is Stem cell Therapy and how it can be used to treat Diabetes?
Stem cell treatment is considered one of the most effective forms of therapy currently available for diabetes. While offering sustained advantages, it works equally well against type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Stem cells show immense promise in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they can control their blood sugar levels.
Stem cell therapy is when stem cells are extracted from your body and then processed and multiplied in sophisticated stem cell labs and reinjected in the impacted part of the body. The stem cells regenerate themselves and start converting into specific cells and tissues that the deteriorating body badly needs.
The new cells then begin to replace the damaged and old cells, reversing the condition.
If you have tried everything but nothing works, stem cells are a new ray of hope for you.
Let’s know about the procedure for stem cell therapy.
