more details on metformin and the body as a machine

So my last post was just a general overview of how metformin and the different organs act together as a machine system. Here is the actual design diagram of how it targets various parts in the body to lower plasma glucose level

some research on metformin

I did some more research over the past week on the background of type 2 diabetes, insulin, metformin, how it works, and other pertinent information. A general overview of how everything functions from an engineer's point of view is that the whole human body is one huge machine and metformin is input into the machine that affects the smaller mechanisms withing the whole system. Essentially, the different types of cells and organs within the body are the smaller mechanisms in the machine, and the metformin is what's keeping the whole machine functioning efficiently. Without the metformin, the body wouldn't be able to maintain a normal level of blood sugar, insulin production, and blood pressure level, leading to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and many others. Eventually, this will lead to death and thus the machine stops functioning.

Resources on antidiabetic drugs

So here are some journal articles I found regarding the three different types of antidiabetic drugs. Basicially sulfonylurea works by increasing the insulin release from the pancreas while biguanides regulates the glucose production in the liver and thiazolidinediones help cells become more insulin sensitive. I will talk about all these in much more detail in the research paper and the diagrams.

Actually, after researching some more, I decided to just focus on biguanides.

Metabolic Effects of Metformin in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus - http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/333/9/550

Re-evaluation of a biguanide, metformin: mechanism of action and tolerability
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WP9-4BRT5VY-11&_user=489256&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000022721&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=489256&md5=9e3c9b336b5fad0f7c74d43c947271af

Metformin
http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:2252/cgi/content/short/334/9/574

The antidiabetic drug metformin activates the AMP-activated protein kinase cascade via an adenine nucleotide-independent mechanism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12145153

Metformin: a new treatment option for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_n6_v42/ai_18448465/

Metformin. A review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic use in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
this one isn't available online, but it says it's available through Penn's catalog, so I will go check it out soon.
http://elinks.library.upenn.edu/sfx_local?sid=google&auinit=CJ&aulast=Dunn&atitle=Metformin.+A+review+of+its+pharmacological+properties+and+therapeutic+use+in+non-insulin-dependent+diabetes+mellitus.&id=pmid:7601013

Cellular mechanism of action of metformin
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&doptcmdl=Abstract&term=0149-5992%20AND%201990%5BPublication%20Date%5D%20AND%2013%5BVolume%5D%20AND%20696%5BPage%20Number%5D

Research Project

I've always really been interested in diabetes since it's such a prevalent issue in society, especially during the past few decades because of the increasing obesity problems in America. More specifically, I really wanted to find out more about the varieties of drugs available for type 2 diabetes mellitus because it is the most common form of diabetes affecting the population today. The general idea is that these patients either are insulin-resistant or insulin-deficient; both will lead to high blood glucose level, leading to problems in the eye, liver, heart and other organs if left untreated.

Originially, I was going to compare and contrast some of the specific medicines used to treat diabetes to find out which is the most efficient one. However, after doing some research, I found out that there were way too many drugs available on the market, and there isn't a single "best" way for treating this condition. Each medicine acts differently on the body and there's almost a "trial and error" period for each person to find out the best medicine that suits his/her body. Also, focusing on why diabetes occur would be too broad and I really wouldn't be able to come up with a conclusive answer. Yet just zooming in on one particular drug was a bit of narrow because 1. I'm not sure which drug I would pick and 2. There aren't many journal articles about one specific drug.

Finally I decided to focus on three common different kinds of type 2 diabetes drug - biguanides, thiazolidinediones, and sulfonylureas - to see how they work both separately and together sometimes to help a person maintain good health.

The Structure cont.

Although I did not use a plant as my structure, the molecular bonds of the glass on a nanoscale do share some similarities with the cells of a liverwort leaf. If I took one layer of cell from the surface of the leaf and compared the outlines that the cells made, they almost resemble exactly the one dimensional shapes of the bonds between the silicon dioxides. The way in which the bonds are connected, which is in a tetrahedral shape, provides the whole structure with stability. The crystalline forms of the molecules give the glass its hardness.

On the next scale, each window pane resembles a regular glass picture frame. Almost all picture frames are made of some transparent material surrounded by a frame of some sort, just like the various window panes connected by frames as well. From one perspective, the transparent nature of the panes allows us to enjoy a great view of the city. From another, the smaller panes connected by frames also provide the entire structure with more support, stability, and strength.
The largest length scale, which is the all the windows/walls of the Rooftop Lounge, is similar to different compartments of a jewelry box. The whole lounge is composed of frames and glass with the frame dividing up the glass. Likewise, a jewelry box contains many different rectangular compartments with the frames dividing up different spaces. Similar to the previous length scale, the walls, frames, and glass together create a better aesthetic view and make the entire structure much more stable than if it was just composed of glass alone.

Silicon Element Facts. (2009). http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/silicon-element-facts.html

The Structure

I originally planned on using a type of plant form as my structure with the chloroplasts and other organelles as one scale, the veins another, and finally a single leaf as the last scale. Later, though, when I heard people discussing bike racks and the Penn card swipe system, I decided to find a structure that is more unique to Penn.
Since I live in the Harnwell college house, I chose the glass windows/walls of the Rooftop Lounge as my structure. Besides the one side that accommodates the entrance, the lounge is surrounded by almost wall-length windows that look out onto the city on three sides.
On the smallest scale, the windows are composed primarily of silica, soda, and other molecules. These chemical interactions and bonds that make up the glass occur in the nanoscopic world, which is 1 X 10-9 m length scale. Switching to a slightly larger scale, the entire structure is made of numerous, smaller, window panes. These sheets of glass vary in size a bit, but they are all fractions or small multiples of 1 m, so the panes are 1 m length scale. For example, the smallest pane is .6 x 1 m (.6 m2) where as the largest one is approximately 1.7 x 2.9 m (4.93 m2). The final length scale is the whole structure, which resembles a rectangle that measures approximately 14 x 9 m with the area being 126 m2. Therefore, the largest length scale is 1 X 102 m.

more technology & healthcare costs

Just recently, I saw a commerical that demonstrated another indirect method in which technology decreases healthcare costs. The commercial was advertising one of those fitness routines anyone can do in his/her home. In addition, he/she can do many different exercises with just one innovative machine. Although this method initially costs money and has financial benefits for that company, it increases a person's fitness level and improves his/her health, reducing the potential cost of hospital bills for a heart attack or other illness due to poor exercise or obesity.
Although this is not probable right now, another futuristic way that technology helps with reducing healthcare costs is that if researchers perfected the "personalized healthcare" system from the Grand Challenges for Engineering where physicians would be able to know the specific diseases a person could contract based on his/her blood or genome. This method would eliminate the costs of many unnecessary tests and improve healthcare overall.

Grand Challenges for Engineering. (2009). National Academy of Engineering of the National Academics. https://courseweb.library.upenn.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_23684_1%26url%3d