Benchmark Evidence Based Practice Project Paper on Diabetes

Lorcaserin as a Remedy for T2D
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Lorcaserin as a Remedy for T2D
Type 2 diabetes mostly affects adults and once diagnosed, one is expected to follow set guidelines and procedures so as to avoid more complications. T2D is a serious disease globally and is also one of the conditions which lead to high morbidity and mortality. Some of the complications of T2D include nerve damage, hearing impairment, eye damage, cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, Alzheimer’s disease, foot damage, and skin conditions. These complications together with late diagnosis which is often the case for most people, often increases the morbidity and mortality rates. Diabetes is a disease that needs careful management and once detected, a patient needs to always follow the stipulated procedures to ensure it is kept at bay. Initially, T2D was believed to be a disease that only affects adults, however, recent research has shown that children are also at risk. With such reports and the increasing number of people who are succumbing to this disease, researchers have been at work trying to find loopholes that could be exploited to help treat and manage T2D. Recently, Burke et al. (2017) published a report claiming that Lorcaserin also has some “significant health benefits for patients with type 2 diabetes” (MedicalXpress, 2017s). Further research is currently underway but this is indeed groundbreaking.
First of all, it is important to understand how T2D occurs and also the specifics regarding Lorcaserin. T2D is a condition where a person’s body fails to produce insulin or the pancreas loses its ability to produce enough insulin. Currently, no specific causes of T2D have been established but physicians believe that it strongly genetic and is also associated with certain lifestyle choices. Additionally, it is believed to represent more than 80% of all diabetes cases in the world and often develops in adults. Lorcaserin, on the other hand, is a weight-loss drug and it works by reducing food consumption. This drug regulates how hungry an obese person feels and therefore, helps them to eat only when it is necessary or when they need to. Burke et al. (2017), however, have discovered that Lorcaserin can also double up as a drug that treats T2D. This conclusion was made after several tests were done and there was reason enough to believe that it can indeed be of help to T2D patients.
According Burke’s research report, aside from helping obese patients, Lorcaserin can also help obese T2D patients. “Researchers have discovered that as well as doing this, the drug can also reduce glucose levels in the body and increase the body’s cells sensitivity to insulin.” For T2D patients, glucose usually remains in the blood and is never synthesized to energy. Insulin monitors the levels of glucose in the body and hence the reason why a majority of T2D patients take insulin shots. According to Burke et al. (2017) “the maintenance of physiologically appropriate levels of glucose is paramount to health and survival.” The above statement is quite indicative of the importance of insulin in our bodies. The report continues to state that “current frontline T2D medications act as peripheral tissues t...