Insulin News and Research

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Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert glucose, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Insulin allows cells to use glucose for fuel and is secreted by beta cells in the islets of Langerhans. The release of insulin from the pancreas is stimulated by increased blood glucose, vagal nerve stimulation, and other factors. Insulin is obtained from various animals and available in a variety of preparations. Commercial insulin preparations differ in a number of ways, including differences in the animal species from which they are obtained; their purity, concentration, and solubility; and the time of onset and duration of their biologic action. An oral hypoglycemic agent is not a form of insulin therapy.

Association between fitness and survival suggests a link between impaired oxygen metabolism and disease

Research published in the current issue of Science magazine reinforces the belief that aerobic capacity is an important determinant in the continuum between health and disease.

26 Jan 2005

Drug reviparin reduces the risk of death after heart attack

The drug reviparin (a low molecular weight heparin anticoagulant), when administered to patients with a heart attack, is effective in reducing the risk of death and the risk of a subsequent heart attack, according to a study in the January 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Jan 2005

Bariatric surgery for severely obese patients leads to weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity

In a study published in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the State University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil; Catholic University, Rome, Italy; and the University of Pisa, Italy, found that the degree of improvement depended on the surgical technique used, comparing biliopancreatic diversion to gastric bypass.

25 Jan 2005

Orally ingested drug to help Type 2 diabetes sufferers

A new drug invented by Monash University researchers Paul Zimmet and Frank Ng could help Type 2 diabetes sufferers lower blood glucose levels and enhance the potency of insulin, with few side effects.

24 Jan 2005

Obesity is linked to lower levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men

A study reported in the current issue of Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society, shows that obesity is linked to lower levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men, making early detection tests unreliable.

24 Jan 2005

New ideas for creating a new generation of oral medications to treat infertility

Researchers now have a much better picture of how follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), one of the most frequently used fertility drugs, works, and with it new ideas for creating a new generation of oral medications to treat infertility.

20 Jan 2005

Insight into potential mechanisms underlying type II diabetes

New research published in the premier issue of Cell Metabolism finds that a single brain region is sufficient for normal control of blood sugar and activity level by the fat hormone leptin. The same region also exerts significant, though more modest, control over leptin's effects on body weight.

19 Jan 2005

Scientists identify fat gene

UCLA/VA scientists have identified a new gene that controls how the body produces and uses fat. Called lipin, the gene may provide a new target for therapies to control obesity, diabetes and other weight-related disorders. The first issue of the new journal Cell Metabolism publishes the findings in its January 2005 edition.

19 Jan 2005

Anti-seizure drugs slow aging in roundworms

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that a class of anti-seizure medications slows the rate of aging in roundworms. The worms, when exposed to drugs used to treat epilepsy in humans, lived longer and retained youthful functions longer than normal.

17 Jan 2005

Pancreatic beta-cells play an important role in the existence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Researchers have discovered that pancreatic beta-cells, which are responsible for insulin secretion, play an important role in the existence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that affects up to 10 percent of reproductive aged women.

12 Jan 2005

Euro funding for diabetes and exercise research

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are among a network of European scientists who have been awarded €12.7 million (around £8.7 million) for a study into the relationship between lack of exercise and the development of diabetes — and the health benefits of regular exercise in its prevention and cure.

12 Jan 2005

Molecular Devices introduces fatty acid uptake assay to target metabolic diseases

Molecular Devices Corporation announced the launch of its QBT Fatty Acid Uptake Assay Kit, the first assay kit that addresses the need for a single-step, homogenous in vitro assay for fatty acid uptake for use in high- throughput screening and metabolic disease research.

12 Jan 2005

Lack of sleep could make you fat

Lack of sleep could make you fat. In an editorial published in the Jan. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Northwestern University researchers stress the need to better understand the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States by studying how loss of sleep alters the complex metabolic pathways that control appetite, food intake and energy expenditure.

10 Jan 2005

New guidelines for treating diabetes

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) issues Clinical Practice Recommendations, a series of updated recommendations to help health care providers treat people with diabetes using the most current research available.

7 Jan 2005

Metabolic syndrome linked to carbohydrate-rich diet

Metabolic Syndrome, a health condition characterized by obesity, high cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure and pre-diabetes, presently affects nearly 47 million Americans.

5 Jan 2005

Sticking to one diet plan key to losing weight

A comparison of four popular diet plans finds that the key to losing weight may not be which diet plan a person picks, but sticking with the plan that is chosen, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.

5 Jan 2005

Link between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance

Researchers have shown a correlation between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance in what appears to be the first long-term study on this subject.

3 Jan 2005

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women, produces a wide variety of body changes with both physical and emotional implications for sufferers.

3 Jan 2005

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

An Oregon Health & Science University-led development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome.

28 Dec 2004

Spinal cord injury and obesity

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System are looking at how people with spinal cord injury burn calories and how that is affected by their muscle mass and body weight. The goal is to make better recommendations to people with spinal cord injury, but the research will also translate into greater understanding of obesity in the general population as well.

26 Dec 2004