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.
For the first time, scientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have discovered a DNA sequence that is essential for pancreatic development and function.
Once considered an inert tissue, fat – or adipose tissue – is now known to play an active role in the body's critical functions by secreting hormones that regulate hunger and body temperature.
A team of researchers led by the University of California, Irvine has discovered that treatment with an extract from the roots of the Rhodiola rosea plant might be effective for helping manage type 2 diabetes, showing promise as a safe and effective non-pharmaceutical alternative.
According to two studies conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells synchronized to the 24-hour day-night cycle are severely disrupted.
Research studying the autoimmune response, in which the immune system kills the insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta cells, is a common topic of type 1 diabetes research.
Some perceive rice as a "bad" source of carbohydrates. That's because most varieties of rice have a high glycemic index.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show how a molecule that they have identified stimulates the formation of new insulin-producing cells in zebrafish and mammalian tissue, through a newly described mechanism for regulating protein synthesis.
A new study performed has offered better knowledge about how genetic factors tend to impact the immune response of the body in type 1 diabetes.
Research reported that the DMDRMR/miR-378a-5p/ DAB2IP axis enhances angiogenesis and sunitinib resistance, suggesting that it could be used for patients with ccRCC.
To celebrate National DNA Day 2022, we spoke to science communicator Professor Matthew Cobb.
The pancreas secretes around a cup of digestive juices per day—a mixture of molecules capable of breaking down the food people consume.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), commonly known as fatty liver disease, is a prevalent disease frequently seen in obese people. Having high fat content in the liver is detrimental as it is strongly associated with severe health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, and liver cancer.
The pancreas is a key metabolic regulator. When pancreatic beta cells cease producing enough insulin, blood sugar levels rise dangerously — a phenomenon known as hyperglycemia — thus triggering diabetes.
Jerry Guintivano, PhD, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, led an exclusive transcriptome-wide association research that showed substantial changes in B-cells in women with postpartum depression, with pathway observations indicating modified B-cell activation and insulin resistance.
Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have created RNA molecules that bind to human pancreatic beta cells, which generate insulin and are destroyed in type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients.
In a breakthrough discovery, scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio today reported that inhibiting a liver enzyme in obese mice decreased the rodents' appetite, increased energy expenditure in adipose (fat) tissues and resulted in weight loss.
A risk score based on a gene map predicted the likelihood of high blood pressure leading to heart problems or stroke in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published today in the American Heart Association's peer-reviewed journal Hypertension.
High blood glucose is responsible for several complications in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a new antidiabetic substance that preserves the activity of insulin-producing beta cells and prevents high blood glucose in mice.
A team of scientists has created a powerful new method for generating protein drugs. Using computers, they designed molecules that can target important proteins in the body, such as the insulin receptor, as well as vulnerable proteins on the surface of viruses.
New advancements in the transplantation of stem cell-derived insulin-producing beta cells to cure type 1 diabetes have created substantial curiosity.