One of the most prevalent chronic diseases is diabetes mellitus, which is a progressive condition. The majority (90 percent) of diabetic patients suffer from the type 2 form of the disease, which is associated with poor diet, aging and genetic predisposition.
During early stages of type 2 diabetes, insulin-mediated glucose uptake in the liver, muscle and adipose tissue becomes less effective, a state named insulin resistance. The resulting high glycemic levels damage vital organs over time and can lead to serious complications such as the development of cardiovascular disease, retinopathy and neuropathy.
Despite advancements in pharmacological therapies, up to half of type 2 diabetic patients fail to achieve adequate glycemic control due to poor medication adherence or secondary failure of pharmacological treatments. Clinical management of type 2 diabetes usually involves a combination of drugs to improve glycemic control and each has its associated side effects. Antihyperglycemic drugs are associated with gastrointestinal dysfunctions such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Hypoglycemic drugs are strongly associated with uncontrolled hypoglycemic episodes, which can lead to loss of consciousness, coma and even death.
Severely unpleasant side effects can lead to unreliable administration or even discontinuation of the therapy. A new therapy is needed clearly to improve medical adherence, reduce secondary failure and minimize side effects while avoiding hypoglycemic episodes.
The vagus nerve regulates energy metabolism, food intake and glycemic control. It has been found that by applying different electrical stimulation strategies to the abdominal vagus nerve modulates glycemia by affecting glucagon and insulin secretions. Applying high-frequency 40 kHz stimulation lowered glucagon secretions and may have a potential application for developing new treatments of type 2 diabetes.
The anterior abdominal vagus nerve resides below vagal branches to the heart and lungs and avoids unwanted off-target activation and allows for the application of high levels of stimulation that may not be tolerated when applied to the cervical vagus nerve. The hepatic nerve innervates the liver, which has a major role in glucose homeostasis and the head of the pancreas and the proximal duodenum, while the distal pancreatic lobe receives sparse innervation from the celiac nerve. Although there are differences in the parasympathetic neural innervation of the human pancreas, electrical stimulation of cholinergic fibers significantly increased insulin sections in an isolated human pancreas model.
Glucagon levels were affected by abdominal vagus nerve stimulation. When circulating levels of glucose in the bloodstream become low, glucagon is released by q-cells of the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas which stimulates the release of glucose in the liver in a process known as gluconeogenesis. Applying 15 Hz vagus nerve stimulation and afferent stimulation resulted in a substantial increase in glucagon levels.
Inhibiting vagal activity by applying 40 kHz stimulation leads to a substantial decrease in glucagon secretions. This may have application in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Significant hyperglycemia in the absence of insulin release during low-frequency vagus nerve stimulation has been reported previously and is thought to be due to afferent-dependent suppression of insulin release that is centrally mediated by the indirect activation of sympathetic splanchnic nerve, known to cause suppression of insulin release.
GLP-1 is another hormone that regulates glucose metabolism by promoting the release of insulin during postprandial phases of ingestion and is a therapeutic target of type 2 diabetes medications. GLP-1 promotes the release of insulin during postprandial phases of ingestion and is a therapeutic target of a class of type 2 diabetic medications.
A study achieved reversible directional stimulation by combining kilohertz-frequency blocking with low-frequency activation and applied it to an abdominal location of the vagus nerve, close to the end organ. Stimulation of the abdominal vagus nerve modulates glycemia by affecting glucagon secretions. Application of stimulation, which showed the ability to lower glucagon levels, may have a potential application for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Your brain communicates to the rest of your body through your nervous system. Every single function in your body is dependent on this communication. If your spine is not in alignment, this can result in pressure on your nervous system. It only takes a slight amount of pressure to cause a description in nervous system communication. When this interference occurs, you could literally experience problems anywhere in your body, including blood sugar levels that are too high or too low.
The upper neck and middle of the back are specific areas responsible for supplying nerve signals to the brain and the vital organs. When these signals are interrupted, your pancreas, blood sugar levels and digestion are all affected. The combination of improper digestion plus abnormal blood sugar levels creates a greater risk of becoming diabetic.
According to a recent study, patients who were not using medication who received chiropractic care for one month experienced improvements. Chiropractors also treated a man with thoracic kyphosis and type 1 diabetes with excellent results.
While insulin or diabetes medication may be necessary for some individuals for their entire lives, chiropractic has the potential to help reduce the need for that medication in many individuals. Chiropractic reduces pressure on the nerves and improves the communication between the brain and the rest of the body, helping to improve the proper and effective generation of insulin.
Lack of exercise and activity in general is what leads to poorer conditions with diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle among other things can even cause diabetes. Chiropractic care can improve your overall health and wellbeing and give you back the ability to exercise and be active.
Chiropractic is also capable of helping with a myriad of other health-related aspects of your life. Gentle, neurologically-based chiropractic adjustments can help you improve your posture, reduce pain in several parts of the body, improve bodily systems and increase range of motion of the limbs. Chiropractic adds more vitality to your days and reduces restrictions that are holding you back from living.