New therapy to end insulin jabs for diabetics

LONDON: Daily insulin shots for diabetics may soon be passe. Scientists have found a solution to control blood sugar and in fact cure diabetes from within the human body. Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientists have discovered a hormone, betatrophin, that increases production of insulin-secreting pancreatic cells 30 times the normal rate.

This has raised hopes that the hormone, secreted by liver and fat cells, will not only drastically improve control of blood sugar levels but actually cure patients suffering from diabetes.

Experts say they have never seen any treatment that causes such an enormous leap in beta cell replication. Publishing their findings in medical journal Cell, scientists said the new beta cells only produce insulin when called for by the body.

This offers the potential for the natural regulation of insulin and a great reduction in the complications associated with diabetes, the leading medical cause of amputations and non-genetic loss of vision.

Lead HSCI researcher Doug Melton carried out the study in mice but said the gene exists in humans too.

"Our idea here is relatively simple. We would provide this hormone, the type 2 diabetic will make more of their own insulin-producing cells, and this will slow down, if not stop, the progression of their diabetes," said Melton

Melton sees betatrophin primarily as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, but believes it might play a role in the treatment of type 1 diabetes as well, perhaps boosting the number of beta cells and slowing the progression of that autoimmune disease when it's first diagnosed.

"We've done the work in mice," Melton said. "But of course we're not interested in curing mice of diabetes, and we now know the gene is a human gene. We've cloned the human gene and, moreover, we know that the hormone exists in human plasma; betatrophin definitely exists in humans."

The team of researchers, which also includes postdoctoral fellow Peng Yi, cautioned that much work remains to be done before it could be used as a treatment in humans.

Diabetes is one of India's biggest health challenges. By 2030, India's diabetes burden is expected to cross the 100 million mark, against 87 million estimated earlier.

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