Tag Archives: type 2 diabetes

Making Old Lungs Look New Again

Animal research suggests ibuprofen can reduce lung inflammation in elderly

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research shows that the lungs become more inflammatory with age and that ibuprofen can lower that inflammation.

In fact, immune cells from old mouse lungs fought tuberculosis bacteria as effectively as cells from young mice after lung inflammation was reduced by ibuprofen. The ibuprofen had no effect on the immune response to TB in young mice. (more…)

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New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer’s, related diseases

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…)

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Glucose ‘control switch’ in the brain key to both types of diabetes

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…)

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Diabetes treatments ‘do more harm than good’ for many people

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…)

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Elusive leptin

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…)

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