ANN ARBOR — It’s obvious that the taste buds on the tongue can detect sugar. And after a meal, beta cells in the pancreas sense rising blood glucose and release the hormone insulin—which helps the sugar enter cells, where it can be used by the body for energy. (more…)
Today, more than two-thirds of adults in the country are considered overweight or obese, putting them at risk for coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, joint problems, some forms of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. (more…)
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, but the research community is one step closer to finding treatment.
University of Washington bioengineers have designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body’s normal proteins into a state that’s linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease. The synthetic molecule blocks these proteins as they shift from their normal state into an abnormally folded form by targeting a toxic intermediate phase. (more…)
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have pinpointed a mechanism in part of the brain that is key to sensing glucose levels in the blood, linking it to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The findings are published in the July 28 issue of Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.
“We’ve discovered that the prolyl endopeptidase enzyme — located in a part of the hypothalamus known as the ventromedial nucleus — sets a series of steps in motion that control glucose levels in the blood,” said lead author Sabrina Diano, professor in the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Comparative Medicine, and Neurobiology at Yale School of Medicine. “Our findings could eventually lead to new treatments for diabetes.” (more…)
Treatments to reduce blood sugar levels do more harm than good in many type 2 diabetes patients, particularly older people, finds new research from UCL, the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that for many people the benefits of taking diabetes medications are so small that they are outweighed by the minor harms and risks associated with treatment. The benefits of treatment decline with age and by age 75 the harms of most treatments are likely to outweigh any potential benefits. (more…)
Researchers find first evidence of fat-regulating hormone in avian species
Since leptin was discovered 20 years ago, more than 115,000 papers have been published on this protein in humans, and another 5,000 have appeared on leptin in mice.
Leptin’s popularity is not surprising, as the hormone is the principal marker for the development of morbid obesity in humans. Leptin and its receptor play critical roles in the control of food intake and energy expenditure, thereby affecting body weight, abdominal fatness, thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and lipid metabolism. (more…)
In study, the more women practiced, the better their results
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Practicing yoga for as little as three months can reduce fatigue and lower inflammation in breast cancer survivors, according to new research.
The more the women in the study practiced yoga, the better their results. (more…)
Michigan State University researchers have uncovered a genetic deficiency in males that can trigger the development of one of the most common types of liver cancer and forms of diabetes.
The research, published in the online issue of Cancer Cell, found that when the NCOA5 gene, present in both men and women, was altered in male mice to a deficient level, a spontaneous reaction occurred producing cells that can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer found to be two-to-four times more prevalent in men than women. (more…)
