- A UK-based Nigerian just found a putative cure for diabetes. That should spur our local scientists to wage scientific war against other diseases
It’s exciting news, especially for patients of Type 2 diabetes — far more common than Type 1: a putative cure is afoot; and one of the medical researchers behind this breakthrough is a Nigerian, Dr. Opeolu Ojo.
The U.K. Express and Star News just broke the story. Dr. Ojo, head of a medical research team at the University of Wolverhampton, England, may have discovered a drug. That drug uses protein extracts from the East Asian bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) to treat diabetics.
The protein of that frog species is very effective at boosting insulin; and tamping down glucose: the cumulative of excess sugar level in the blood, which drives Type 2 diabetes. Low insulin leads to dangerously high sugar level.
Dr. Ojo, a biochemistry teacher and researcher, presented his team’s findings at the Diabetes United Kingdom Professional Conference.
“Our research has uncovered great potentials of peptides from amphibian skin secretions, particularly their potential clinical use as novel agents for treating Type 2 diabetes,” he told the conference. ”By combining these peptides with some of the molecules that our body produces naturally, our desire is to create a safe and powerful alternative to current anti-diabetic medications which have many challenges, including their side effects and the ability to restore the body’s ability to control blood glucose.”
It’s early days yet but with this promising treatment regime, the era of Type 2 diabetes patients jabbing selves with insulin may well end. It could be replaced with oral pills, more body system-friendly; and far less organically disruptive.
True, there’s also Type 1 diabetes. In that, the body’s immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas, the primary organ that secretes insulin. Type 1 also affects younger people, from 35 years and below, as against Type 2, a function of aging and carbohydrate-dominated diets, very common in Nigeria.
Then, a sedentary work culture and lack of adequate exercise. The two make it difficult to burn off excess blood sugar, especially as people go from vigorous childhood, adolescence and youth, to mid-age and old age.
That consigns many people to Type 2 diabetes, with symptoms: increased hunger, weight loss, frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, yeast infection, blurry vision, extreme fatigue, sores that don’t heal, decreased sex drive and urinary tract infection.
Perhaps because of poverty, or more pin-point, dietary illiteracy or just carelessness, excessive consumption of carbohydrates — the sad reality in our country — accounts for Nigerians being among the most diabetes-prone in the world. The dominant diabetes strain here is Type 2.
This sad reality shows the putative impact of Dr. Ojo and co’s discovery, if the drug is mainstreamed and is available in the Nigerian market. It could well be a game changer in public health and wellness, as far as diabetes is concerned.
Yet, the uneasy question: could he and his team have achieved that breakthrough, if he was based here? That again underscores the primacy of institutional support for research and development (R & D) in the development matrix of any country.
Research is basic, not incidental. So, all governments — federal, state and local government — should prime their resource allocation towards that reality. Indeed, Dr. Ojo’s findings could have opened a window for adequate follow-up by our local scientists, to further domesticate this promising diabetes drug.
Protein secretions from the East Asian bullfrog is a critical mix in the new drug. Could our medical researchers probe into the possibilities of our local frogs having similar medicinal qualities? But even if the scientists were primed and ready to go, all would be a mere pipe dream, if ready and generous research funding wasn’t available.
Still on research funding: the government can — and should — do far more. But even at its optimum, the government can’t do everything. So, Nigeria must develop a vibrant culture of support foundations for medical, scientific and sundry research, with special focus on diseases that should be curable, if our scientists are hung-ho enough in their quest.
It’s not clear if Dr. Ojo’s UK feat can qualify as “scientific nationalism”, for his focus on Type 2 diabetes. What is clear is that more research attention is needed on the many local diseases. Science can certainly save the millions of patients. But research should not be limited to western conventional medicine alone. Herbal-driven trado-medicines too should be encouraged.
That way, Nigerian scientists would be primed to help conquer the Nigerian environment, in the area of public health and general wellness. It’s depressing that the latest R21 Malaria Vaccine, with 75 per cent efficacy rate, is a research product of Oxford University, UK, where malaria is not such a terrible challenge. Nigerian scientists must challenge themselves to do more, supported by requisite funding.