Study tries to find personalized treatment for stress-related diabetes

The relationship between stress and diabetes is one of the more overlooked elements to the disease. While there are plenty of recommended prescription medications for diabetes, such as Januvia, trying to alleviate stress sometimes isn't as simple. Long-term stress can have a lasting impact on someone living with diabetes, and one recent study attempted to explore whether personalized forms of treatment for the blood sugar disease may provide the best path for treating stress-related diabetes.

A new treatment on the horizon
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden tested a that focuses on protecting insulin-producing cells that are affected by stress hormones. While many types of diabetic treatment try to zero-in on alleviating specific symptoms of the disease, this proposed solution will attempt to cure the disease mechanism itself by repairing the ability to secrete insulin.

To test this treatment out, the colleagues gathered 50 participants, all of whom had Type 2 diabetes, to undergo a glucose tolerance test, which informed the researchers how insulin secretion responded to elevated sugar levels. Twenty-nine of the subjects also carried a risk gene of diabetes, which is essentially genetic variants that inherently raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Sensitivity to stress hormones is considered to be an associated risk variant of diabetes, and the researchers discovered that insulin secretion was 25 percent worse in patients who were found to have the risk gene. 

The colleagues tested how yohimbine, a drug that had been deregistered for several years, is not only able to block out the negative effects of such gene variants in animal experiments, but may also help improve insulin secretion levels. The researchers concluded that through future modifications and further testing, yohimbine may be one of of the leading solutions in relation to treating stress-related diabetes.

Dr. Anders Rosengren, a researcher at Lund University and leading author of the study, discussed how the sky's the limit in terms of the potential for this medicinal treatment.

"The concept of treatment personalized to the individual's risk profile has great potential," Rosengren said in a statement. "Our results show that it is possible to block the effects of a common risk gene for Type 2 diabetes. Purely theoretically, the drug should be effective for the 40 percent of Type 2 diabetes sufferers who are carriers of the genetic risk variant."

Managing stress-related diabetes
Besides adding mental strain to an already difficult physical condition, stress can impact diabetes in a variety of ways that are specific to the disease. An excess of stress hormones could potentially alter blood glucose levels, and frequent experiences of stress may decrease insulin's ability to boost extra energy in bodily cells.

Stress can arise in nearly infinite forms, ranging from too much overload at work to managing your relationships. However, the sheer effort and procedures of controlling diabetes is a common way for patients to experience excess amounts of stress. Tension and pressure tend to not go away on their own, and may require a little extra effort on a patient's part to ease the stress.

Exercise or staying active is one of the easiest ways to help reduce stress. Whether you're lifting weights at the gym or participating in a favorite sport, adequate physical activity can be achieved through many forms. In addition to relieving stress, the American Diabetes Association states that exercise is an , especially in relation to lowering blood glucose.

As for symptoms of diabetes, Januvia is a proven medication that's designed to help treat certain traits of the disease. Using a Canadian online pharmacy is an easy and quick way to buy Januvia whenever you need to refill a prescription.