Speculating on Oxidative Damage and Diabetes
Thoughs from Ouroboros: "When we think of the ways in which oxidation contributes to age-related decline, it's usually in the context of individual cells: Throughout the body, oxygen radicals accumulate within cells, perhaps as a result of damage to mitochondria, and these reactive oxygen species in turn wreak havoc throughout the cell. This happens, certainly, but the picture is incomplete until we take into account the active cellular response to oxidative damage. ... [researchers] describe how a failure in antioxidant defenses [causes] angiogenesis in the pancreas. The increase in blood flow causes hyperinsulinemia, which causes downregulation of pro-longevity factors throughout the body ... One wonders whether chronic hyperinsulinemia might further stress pancreatic beta cells, as cells throughout the body downregulate the insulin response and become insulin resistant, generating a vicious cycle in which even more insulin resistance is required. Such a mechanism could provide a bridge between oxidation and late-life diabetes, one of the scourges of old age."
Link: http://ouroboros.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/oxidative-damage-in-the-pancreas/