An Effective Diabetes Treatment?

The New Scientist reports on a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes: "obesity triggers insulin resistance by inducing stress in a cellular organelle called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ... It is thought that obesity causes stress in the ER by forcing it to process an excessive amount of fat molecules. ... [researchers] decided to try supplying the ER with extra chemical chaperones, in the form of small molecular drugs called PBA and TUDCA. Mice with severe obesity and insulin resistance were given one of the two drugs for three weeks. ... In both sets of mice, blood glucose levels returned to normal within four to seven days, the researchers say. And the drugs restored insulin sensitivity and cured fatty liver disease in the 'diabetic' mice. The normal glucose levels remained constant until the end of the treatment." Another effective methodology: take better care of your health so as to avoid obesity.

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9840-new-hope-for-treating-obesityrelated-diabetes.html

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