Investigation of the therapeutic effects of hot springs waters sourced from Afyonkarahisar region on experimentally-induced diabetes mellitus in mice

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common diseases worldwide and its incidence is increasing day by day. The aim of this research project was to determine the efficacy of balneotherapy in the treatment of DM. For this purpose, 50 Albino rats of the same daily age were used. In all animals, 50 rats forming the study material were divided into 2 groups as control and study groups for a 21-day treatment period, 3 days after DM was formed with streptozotocin (STZ), with the same live weight average. In the treatment stage, control animals were treated with normal tap water, while the study group treated animals with spa water. In all animals; clinical, hematological, blood biochemical and histopathological examinations were performed before starting the study after fatty liver formation and 1, 7, 14 and 21 days after treatment. When compared with the control group; total leukocyte, neutrophil, monocyte, glucose, AST, ALT, ALP, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL levels decreased significantly (p <0.05) in erythrocyte, hemoglobin, hematocrit, insulin, total protein, albumin, HDL levels were significantly increased (p <0.05). These changes were supported by histopathological findings. In the light of the data obtained from this study, it was concluded that the spa waters of Afyonkarahisar Region had very successful results in DM and should be considered as an additional option in the treatment of diabetes.