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Friday, December 4, 2015

Type 2 Diabetes - Genetic Research To Help Lower Insulin Resistance and Diabetic Nerve Damage

Since the discovery of genes and the DNA molecules that make them up, scientists have thought of manipulating human programming to cure one disease or another. Being at least partially caused by genetics, Type 2 diabetes is a good place to start.

Brown fat is important in regulating...


  • energy,
  • fats, and
  • carbohydrates.

Brown fat produces body heat from stored fat, lowering fat stores in the process. Investigators at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan, have found a way of changing brown fat cell genes so the cells will help reduce insulin resistance, the cause of Type 2 diabetes. Brown fat cells are less active in obese and diabetic patients than in healthy individuals.

The work of the investigators reported on in the medical journal Stem Cell Reports in September 2015 consisted of using viruses to introduce new genes into human cells. The new genes signalled other types of cells to become brown fat cells. The newly converted cells were able to burn sugar. This process produced new cells in mice and were able to lower obesity and help control Type 2 diabetes. From these results, it was concluded genetic engineering could become a significant tool for fighting obesity and Type 2 diabetes in humans.

Scientists led by the University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, are also looking at genes in Type 2 diabetes. Their goal is to develop drugs to prevent nerve damage often seen in the condition. Their study reported on in the journal OncoTargets and Therapy in August 2015 looked at tissue taken from body fat and the pancreas of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. They found particular genes were causing cells to make either more or less of some specific proteins than they typically produce. Being exposed to the wrong amounts of those proteins is linked to nerve damage in diabetics. From these results, it was concluded it should be possible to design and manufacture in the future, medications aimed at genes that cause the nerve damage associated with Type 2 diabetes.

As the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes throughout the world increases, so do cases of diabetic neuropathy or nerve complications. An estimate of 10 percent or more of people with diabetes has nerve damage. The chances of developing nerve damage are 50 percent over a diabetic's lifetime. Many people are familiar with the "glove and stocking" pattern of numbness and tingling in the hands and feet that can accompany Type 2 diabetes. The condition can also affect nerves in the...


  • digestive system,
  • the urinary bladder,
  • heart, and
  • blood vessels.

Thanks to modern genetic research, those complications can someday be a thing of the past.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets. Article Source

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