Abstract
Background: Across the world, the economic and health costs of diabetes are rising at an alarming rate. Each year in the United States, billions of dollars are spent on T2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatments, but such treatments are not always effective and can lead to adverse events. Many pharmacological treatments exist to control the primary and secondary symptoms of T2DM, but these medications are not always efficacious, do little to treat secondary T2DM symptoms, and often carry adverse side effects. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a form of alternative medicine that is becoming appealing to western healthcare systems because of its comprehensive, holistic approach to managing T2DM patients.
Methods: Works across TCM printed texts, clinical trial databases, medical association practice guidelines, and the existing literature on TCM and western diabetes treatments (in print and online) are reviewed.
Results: Conventional pharmaceutical therapies for T2DM are not efficacious enough to maintain satisfactory blood glucose levels for all patients, and even patients who maintain stable blood glucose levels may still suffer from secondary T2DM symptoms as well as from the side effects of their medications. TCM therapies have demonstrated promising results in T2DM clinical studies without causing the types of side effects associated with standard pharmaceutical treatments. In addition, the economic burden of TCM diabetes treatments on patients and payers is oftentimes less than that of pharmaceutical regimens.
Conclusion: TCM approaches can be a viable alternative approach to treatment in the modern U.S. healthcare landscape, but a number of obstacles impede its assimilation into western health systems.
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advancing Diabetic Wound Healing: Mechanisms and Interventions
In recent years, diabetic wounds have become a global health concern with the increase in the incidence of diabetes. Diabetic wounds are a kind of chronic and refractory ulcer. It is generally due to the microcirculatory disturbances and the reduced levels of endogenous growth factors. Delayed cutaneous wound healing is ...read more
Oxidative and inflammatory responses in the development of secondary diabetic complications
Diabetes, along with its associated secondary complications, represents a significant global health challenge, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality. Unhealthy lifestyle habits, reduced physical activity, environmental pollutants, and stress are pivotal factors in the onset of diabetes, particularly type-2 diabetes. Poorly managed hyperglycemia can lead to various complications, including neuropathy, ...read more
Related Journals
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Current Bioactive Compounds
Current Cancer Drug Targets
Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews
Current Drug Safety
Current Drug Targets
Current Drug Therapy
Current Enzyme Inhibition
Related Books
Drug Addiction Mechanisms in the Brain
Textbook of Advanced Dermatology: Pearls for Academia and Skin Clinics (Part 1)
The NLRP3 Inflammasome: An Attentive Arbiter of Inflammatory Response
Software and Programming Tools in Pharmaceutical Research
Morphea and Related Disorders
Objective Pharmaceutics: A Comprehensive Compilation of Questions and Answers for Pharmaceutics Exam Prep
Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - CNS and Neurological Disorders
Stem Cells in Clinical Application and Productization
Marine Biopharmaceuticals: Scope and Prospects
Medicinal Chemistry of Drugs Affecting Cardiovascular and Endocrine Systems
112
11
1