Diabetes Mellitus and Human Health Care: A Holistic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment PDF

PREFACE

This book, Diabetes Mellitus and Human Health Care, contains cutting-edge chapters by leading researchers and practitioners who deal with critical issues concerning diagnosis, treatment, and management of diabetes. This book also enlightens on some of the recent progress in diabetic care and therapy. The topics range from on recent trends in traditional medicine used to control diabetes to advanced biosensor technology to detect this devastating disease. Each chapter follows a holistic approach that integrates the science behind the diabetes, engineering approaches to detect and treat it, and the medical practices to be adopted to eradicate it. This book offers a wealth of valuable data and discussions that will be of use to researchers as well as practicing physicians concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and management of diabetes and other ailments related to diabetes.

Recent attention has been focused on plant extracts and plant-derived compounds to treat type 2 diabetes. The book also focuses on the phytomedicines used for the treatment of diabetes such as Withania coagulans with up-to-date information on the various investigations conducted confirming the antidiabetic potential of this plant. Another medicinal plant Glycosmis pentaphylla which is used in traditional medicine for a long time for cough, rheumatism, an anemia, jaundice, and other ailments, is evaluated for its free radical quenching activity. Plants that serve both as antioxidant scavengers as well as antidiabetic agents would be ideal to treat diabetic and its complications. In this light antioxidant, antidiabetic, and chemical composition of the plant Syzygium aqueum leaf extracts are also included as a separate chapter.

The chapters, some of which include basic studies in the molecular mechanism of diabetes, provide rich insights into our experiences today with a broad range of modern approaches toward diabetes care. Understanding of genetics of any disease can provide a better choice of the treatment and easy management of them from the root cause. Pathway analysis of the type 2 diabetes highlights the mechanism of the causality of diabetes and different genes and processes involved in it. Controlling the pathways at the important junctures can regulate the diabetes PREFACE either by enhancing insulin production or increasing its efficiency. In one chapter, the microcirculatory disturbances in diabetic heart and the therapeutic strategies to restore them are discussed in detail. Although, growth factor or cell-based angiogenic therapies are an attractive therapeutic option for diabetic patients, a better understanding of pro- and antiangiogenic influences in diabetic patients is crucial to maximize the outcome of such therapies.

There are many classes of drugs used to treat type-2 diabetes. Thiazolidinediones are an important class among them. In one chapter novel 2, 4-thiazolidinedione derivatives containing aryl sulphonyl urea moieties have been successfully evaluated for the antihyperglycemic activity. Molecular mechanism of S-oxidation of anti-diabetic thiazolidinedione class of drugs is evaluated by computational approaches in another chapter. The process of S-oxidation of thiazolidinedione ring was studied using different oxidants like H₂O₂, HOONO, and C₄a-hydroperoxyflavin using density functional theory. Thus, the chapter describes the molecular mechanism of S-oxidation which paves the pathway for further improvements and efficiency in drug discovery.

People with diabetes are at increased risk for complications of wound healing for several reasons. A greater understanding of the molecular mechanism of diabetes and advances in biomaterial research has led to significant advancements in the management of diabetic wounds. One chapter outlines how current advances in molecular biology, polymer technology, and biomaterials can be incorporated into a multidisciplinary translational research approach for formulating novel smart wound dressings for diabetic wound treatment. Diabetic foot ulcers are the major cause of hospitalization of patients with diabetes. Foot ulcers and their subsequent complications are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. This provides an insight to the importance of diabetic foot care, especially the role of footwear and orthosis in the management of chronic diabetic wounds. A chapter is devoted to the research to be carried out to improve the design and need of customized therapeutic footwear for patients with diabetes.

Type-2 diabetes mellitus patients are susceptible to stresses. The study in the book evaluates the temporal effect of repeated stress in the pathophysiology of T2DM. The aggravation of diabetes-induced metabolic parameters by repeated stress was more pronounced after diabetes induction compared to before diabetes induction. Thus, different treatment paradigms may have to be developed other than conventional therapies to treat these conditions.

In another chapter the role of sugar–rich diet in the insulin resistance and alteration in gut microflora is extensively discussed. The correlation between diabetes mellitus and acute myocardial infarction is also a matter of discussion in this book. The prevention of cardiac complication in diabetes patients is a great challenge. Development of therapeutic strategy to restore coronary microcirculation and VEGF signaling cascade in diabetes is a novel approach to prevent cardiac complication in diabetes at the molecular level. One of the chapters discusses the above aspects in detail.

In this book, topics on the molecular mechanism, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment options of diabetes are discussed in a lucid manner and in a readily accessible form. As a result, each chapter provides an in-depth array of knowledge satisfying to professional colleagues interested in diabetes care. Further this book focuses on the recent advances in the management of diabetes, by focusing on a holistic approach. We have given great attention on global trends in diabetes, epidemiology of diabetes, inhibitors in diabetes, and diabetes therapy in this book. The book will be extremely useful in the sense that it covers the recent trends in modern medicine (allopathy), Ayurveda and other traditional practices. The book emphasizes interdisciplinary research and holistic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.