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Type II diabetes is fast becoming a growing problem in developed countries worldwide. Traditionally the median age for diagnosis was around sixty, but recent surveys have shown that the entire age distribution curve has shifted to the left. Western countries boast the worst statistics in which type II diabetes is being reported in children under the age of ten. At such a young age the disease often goes undiagnosed for long periods of time allowing considerable damage to occur. The incidence of type II diabetes is thought to be parallel with the growing rate of obesity associated with a characteristically unhealthy western diet. Type II diabetes is an extremely expensive disease to manage, and with the rapid growth of this pandemic our country will soon feel the economic burden of this disease. It is for this reason that cheaper medication needs to be investigated in the form of traditional plants, such as Sutherlandia frutescens. Prescription medication, such as tricyclic antidepressants, may also increase body weight or appetite thereby playing a role in obesity. The cause of weight gain in such cases may go unrecognized or lead to cessation of the medication with or without the practitioner’s knowledge or approval. It is therefore necessary to investigate the causative agents responsible for the excessive weight gain. Drinking water containing extracts of the S. frutescens, metformin (a well known type II diabetes medication) and amitriptyline (a common tricyclic antidepressant) was administered to three groups of ten male Wistar rats. The control group received water without any medication. The rat’s weight and food consumption was monitored throughout the trial and their oxygen consumption was also determined. Rats were sacrificed after four months of medicinal compliance and glucose uptake, in the presence and absence of insulin, was tested in epididymal fat, liver and muscle. Fasting plasma glucose levels, lipoprotein, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were also determined.

Diabetes is a serious condition that affects all the body’s systems including kidneys, heart, eyes and limbs. This alone makes type II diabetes a life threatening disease; an expensive disease and economic burden that many individuals struggle to cope with.The rapid growth type II diabetes in South Africa is associated with the change of life style, and environmental factors brought by westernized way of life living in rural areas. Despite the technical advances in diagnosis and therapy of diabetes many people still use alternative forms of therapy due to the cost, traditional reasons and religion. Some of the people use the conventional medication together with the alternative therapy without informing their doctor and knowing the pathological changes. The aim of the study was to investigate pathological changes in male Wistar rats after co-treatment of type II diabetes with metformin and Sutherlandia frutescens and the possible synergistic and antagonistic effects. The thirty five rats were divided into five groups, seven in each group. There were two control groups and three test groups. Only the first control group was on a low fat diet (normal rat pellets) and second control group and test groups were on a high fat diet which induces obesity, insulin resistance and leads a typical prediabetic state for 12 weeks (Buettner et al., 2006). After 11.5 weeks medication was administered by oral gavaging to the test groups for 4 weeks and control groups received water. Blood was collected for determination of glucose, insulin, lipid profile and the concentrations of the liver enzymes. Pancreas, liver and kidney tissue were removed and used for histology. Urine was collected from the bladder for creatinine analyses. The plant + metformin group co-treatment was better in managing hyperglycemia, liver damages were minimal and also weight control was better when compared to metformin alone.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Diabetes is a significant health problem in the United States which disproportionately affects Native Americans. Despite many new prevention and intervention programs, there has been a prolific increase in the incidence of diabetes among Native Americans. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experience of Coeur d’Alene tribal members living with type 2 diabetes using a Heideggerian hermeneutic framework. Participants were recruited through the local diabetes educator at the tribal clinic using purposive and snowball sampling. Individual interviews were conducted with ten Coeur d’Alene tribal members whom had type 2 diabetes and were willing to share their stories of about living with diabetes. Participants ranged in age from 26-86. Interviews lasted from 25-90 minutes and focused on gathering stories about their daily life with their diabetes, and barriers and supports to their diabetes self-management. These became the data for hermeneutic interpretations. Individual transcripts were read and reread for initial themes. Next, comparisons between and across transcripts were done through interpretive emersion into the texts. Emerging themes and patterns were brought before a group of qualitative nurse researchers and doctoral students as a means of cross-checking and validating interpretations. Perseverance was the overarching pattern in the stories of living with diabetes in the world of Schitsu’umsh. The four themes that emerged under the umbrella of perseverance were valuing tribal traditions, being inattentively caring, struggling with disease burdens, and experiencing tensions in patient-provider relations. Living with diabetes in the world of the Schitsu’umsh was always a tenuous balancing act. There was an ever present dialectic tension between strengths and barriers underlying their daily struggles for balance. By increasing our understanding of Native American experiences of living with diabetes, collaborative partnerships can be developed with the tribes to address these barriers to diabetes self-management and to develop culturally relevant diabetes education programs. There is also a need to address cultural competence by the health care community and to work at eliminating biases and prejudice in our healthcare system. This work brings new cultural understandings of what it means to live with diabetes in one Native American group.