At present, it cannot be stated that “taking 5-ALA will cure Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.” 5-ALA is being studied as a compound involved in glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function, and its potential to support diabetes treatment is under investigation. In fact, clinical studies using a combination of 5-ALA and SFC, an iron component, have reported trends toward improved safety and blood-glucose-related markers in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

At the same time, our research focuses on what we call “diabetes stem cells,” abnormal cells that may remain in the bone marrow and contribute to the difficulty of curing diabetes. In mouse studies, temporary treatment combining insulin with an HDAC inhibitor has been reported to maintain normal blood glucose even after the treatment period ended.

5-ALA is attracting attention as one of the possible candidates related to this fundamental treatment research. However, its use as a treatment aimed at curing diabetes still needs to be further verified through clinical trials.

It should also be noted that 5-ALA supplements currently sold in Japan are treated as health foods, not as medicines. The 5-ALA hydrochloride formulation approved in the United States is not a diabetes medication; it is a drug used for photodynamic diagnosis to help visualize tumor tissue during surgery for malignant glioma.

Some studies have reported trends toward improvement in fasting blood glucose, glycated albumin, 2-hour values in oral glucose tolerance testing, and HbA1c when 5-ALA is taken together with SFC, an iron component. The uploaded materials also introduce studies related to Type 2 diabetes and mitochondrial diabetes, suggesting that 5-ALA may help support glucose metabolism.

However, the effect on blood glucose varies from person to person. Results may differ depending on the state of diabetes, pancreatic function, insulin resistance, diet, exercise, and current medications. Therefore, 5-ALA should not be used as a substitute for diabetes medication or insulin based on personal judgment. It should be understood as a compound that may support glucose metabolism.

Special caution is needed for people who are already using diabetes medication. Because blood glucose levels may change, anyone considering taking 5-ALA should do so carefully under medical supervision, with appropriate blood glucose monitoring.

5-ALA is a compound that also exists naturally in the human body and is involved in the process by which mitochondria produce energy. In clinical studies, trials using 5-ALA together with SFC at doses of up to 200 mg per day in patients with Type 2 diabetes have suggested that there may be relatively few major safety concerns. However, it cannot be said that “because it exists in the body, it has no side effects.” Caution is needed depending on the dose, individual constitution, underlying diseases, and other medications being taken.

People undergoing diabetes treatment should be especially careful about hypoglycemia. If pancreatic function or insulin secretion improves as expected in some research, people using insulin injections or glucose-lowering drugs may experience blood glucose levels that fall too low. The uploaded materials also indicate that, if pancreatic function recovers, insulin management and blood glucose monitoring may become important issues.

For this reason, people with diabetes should not increase the dose of 5-ALA or reduce their medications on their own. They should always consult a physician before taking it.

The status of 5-ALA depends on the purpose of use and the type of product. In the medical field, 5-ALA hydrochloride has been approved in some cases as a drug used for photodynamic diagnosis in cancer. Gleolan, which is approved by the U.S. FDA, is an optical imaging agent used to make tumor tissue easier to see during surgery for malignant glioma.

On the other hand, 5-ALA supplements generally sold in Japan are treated as health foods, not as medicines. In other words, they are not approved as drugs for the treatment of diabetes. As a health food ingredient, 5-ALA is known to be contained in foods such as sake, natto, and fermented foods, and it is also present in the human body.

Therefore, at this stage, it cannot be stated that “5-ALA is a drug that cures diabetes.” A more appropriate explanation is that “5-ALA is being studied as a compound involved in glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function.” This is also because claiming that a health food can treat or prevent a disease may be considered a medicinal efficacy claim.

The appropriate amount of 5-ALA depends on the product type, the amount contained in each tablet, the purpose of intake, physical condition, underlying diseases, and other medications being used. Commercially available 5-ALA supplements are health foods, and unlike diabetes medications, they do not have a fixed “prescribed dose.”

Clinical studies have reported the use of 5-ALA together with SFC at doses of up to 200 mg per day, but these were controlled studies conducted under research conditions. Some commercially available products contain 50 mg per tablet, and some people may take around two tablets per day, but this does not mean that such an amount is appropriate for everyone.

People undergoing diabetes treatment, those using insulin or glucose-lowering medications, those with kidney or liver concerns, and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not decide the dose on their own. They should consult a physician or specialist.

No. Even if you are interested in 5-ALA, you should not stop your current diabetes medication or insulin based on your own judgment. Blood glucose control is extremely important for preventing complications involving the kidneys, eyes, nerves, cardiovascular system, and other organs. Suddenly stopping medication or insulin may cause blood glucose levels to rise significantly and may lead to serious complications.

Our goal is not merely to lower blood glucose levels, but to address the cellular-level causes that may allow diabetes to persist. In mouse studies, maintaining blood glucose control with insulin while using an HDAC inhibitor has been shown to help maintain normal blood glucose even after treatment ended.

However, how to achieve fundamental improvement of diabetes in humans still needs to be verified through clinical trials and clinical research. Therefore, at this stage, we cannot provide a specific treatment method for “how to take 5-ALA to cure diabetes.” Any changes to treatment should always be made under the supervision of a primary physician or diabetes specialist.

5-ALA is being studied for its possible involvement in cellular metabolic status, mitochondrial function, and the epigenomic environment. At the current stage of research, it is becoming clearer that 5-ALA may help regulate epigenomic abnormalities in a direction similar to HDAC inhibition, but clinical trials specifically aimed at curing diabetes will still be necessary in the future.

However, at present, it is not appropriate to describe 5-ALA as an established HDAC inhibitor. In the diabetes mouse study that demonstrated complete remission, the HDAC inhibitor used was givinostat. 5-ALA should be explained not as an HDAC inhibitor itself, but as a candidate that may help normalize abnormal cellular states in a direction similar to HDAC inhibition.

Therefore, for the general public, we currently describe it as follows: “5-ALA is being studied as a new treatment candidate with attention to safety, in connection with research on diabetes stem cells and fundamental treatment using HDAC inhibitors.”

An HDAC inhibitor is a type of drug that regulates “gene switches” inside cells. Our cells contain DNA, but not all genes are active all the time. Only the genes that are needed are turned on, while unnecessary genes remain inactive. One of the systems that controls which genes are active involves enzymes called HDACs.

HDAC inhibitors suppress the activity of HDACs and may help change abnormal cellular states. In simple terms, they are expected to act somewhat like resetting a cell’s “bad memory” of disease. They are being studied in many fields, including cancer, inflammation, neurological diseases, and diabetes.

In diabetes stem cell research, HDAC inhibitors may help normalize abnormal bone-marrow-derived cells that contribute to the persistence of diabetes. In mouse studies, temporary treatment with insulin and the HDAC inhibitor givinostat has been reported to maintain normal blood glucose even after the treatment period ended.

Diabetes stem cells are abnormal cells that may remain in the body even after blood glucose levels temporarily return to normal, and they may contribute to the persistence of diabetes. In our research, we focus on the possibility that bone-marrow-derived cells are involved in the difficulty of curing diabetes and its complications. We believe that abnormal cells within the hematopoietic stem cell fraction may cause diabetes and its complications and create a condition that is difficult to reverse.

Diabetes has traditionally been viewed mainly as a disease of high blood glucose. However, one reason why diabetes may not be completely cured even when blood glucose is lowered could be that cellular-level causes remain inside the body. This is the concept behind diabetes stem cell research.

In simple terms, diabetes stem cells may be one of the “invisible causes” that allow diabetes to persist in the body. If the activity of these cells can be suppressed or the cells can be removed, it may lead to fundamental improvement of diabetes itself and its complications.

There is a possibility, but at this stage it cannot be stated that diabetic complications can also be cured. Diabetic complications involve damage to blood vessels, nerves, kidneys, eyes, the heart, and other organs. Diabetes is not only a problem of blood glucose; it is a disease that affects the entire body. In our current research, we have organized more than 20 years of research reports, by organ, on abnormalities of bone-marrow-derived cells and organ damage in diabetes.

For more details about the research, please see the laboratory’s publication list: “Previous Research Reports on Bone-Marrow-Derived Cells in Diabetes and Its Complications”
https://biozipcode.org/lab/achievement

5-ALA is being studied as a compound that supports mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. Therefore, its potential future applications may also become research topics in areas related to diabetic complications, including vascular damage, nerve damage, inflammation, and tissue repair. 5-ALA is often introduced as a compound being studied not only in diabetes, but also in a wide range of fields such as fatigue, physical function, sarcopenia, skin health, anti-inflammatory effects, and the central nervous system.