On the way to diabetes treatment
Alexey Levin, Voice of AmericaGreen tea as a protection
American scientists have found a new way to treat type I diabetes.
This form of carbohydrate metabolism disorder usually develops in childhood or adolescence due to the death of islet beta cells of the pancreas, which specialize in the synthesis of insulin. It is also called insulin-dependent diabetes, since the life of patients depends entirely on the timely administration of this hormone. With type 2 diabetes mellitus, which usually occurs in middle or old age, insulin synthesis only decreases or even remains at the normal level, but the patient's body reacts to this hormone insufficiently.
The staff of the Medical College of Georgia in experiments on mice found that insulin-dependent diabetes can be combated with the help of a strong antioxidant, which is part of green tea. The molecule of this substance, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, in the abbreviation EGCG, consists of twenty-two carbon atoms, eighteen hydrogen atoms and 11 oxygen atoms. In recent years, information has been received that EGCG has an anti-cancer effect, and also prevents degeneration of brain tissues.
The antidiabetic effect of EGCG was noticed almost by accident. Stephen Hsu, a specialist in molecular biology of the cell, and his colleagues conducted experiments on mice of a specially bred line genetically programmed for the disease Sjogren's syndrome.
This disease affects a number of glands that produce vital fluids, primarily saliva and tears. It belongs to the number of autoimmune diseases, the cause of which lies in the abnormal activity of the immune system, which begins to destroy the tissues of its own body. The list of these diseases includes diabetes mellitus of the first type.
The animals that the researchers from Georgia worked with have genetic defects that cause both Sjogren's syndrome and insulin-dependent diabetes. The experimenters suggested that EGCG dissolved in drinking water would weaken the inflammatory processes characteristic of Sjogren's syndrome. Their expectations were confirmed, but it was not limited to this. Mice that received this antioxidant got diabetes 4-6 times less often than their relatives from the control group who were given clean water.
Of course, mouse models of certain pathologies are by no means identical to human diseases. Researchers from Georgia intend first of all to test how EGCG affects the tissues of the salivary glands of people suffering from Sjogren's syndrome. If its healing effect is confirmed, it will be possible to check its capabilities and the quality of antidiabetic medication.
Protein against diabetesResearchers at Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have confirmed a recently put forward hypothesis that claims that the development of diabetes is associated with inflammatory processes in muscle and adipose tissue.
According to this model, such processes can block insulin signals that trigger the flow of glucose from the blood to those tissues that need it. It follows from this that diabetes can be treated with the help of properly selected anti-inflammatory drugs.
Harvard doctors, led by Professors Maria Koulmanda and Terry Strom, conducted experiments on mice of a specially bred line that develop diabetes at normal weight. The researchers injected the animals with a complex protein alpha-1 antitrypsin, which is produced by liver tissue. From there, this glycoprotein enters the bloodstream and protects the tissues of various organs from the destructive action of enzymes secreted by the cells of inflamed tissues.
Scientists have found that such injections suppress insulin, inflammation of the islets of Langerhans located in the pancreas, which produce insulin. As a result of such therapy, the concentration of glucose in the blood plasma of sick mice decreased to normal and their body began to respond much better to insulin signals.
However, the results of treatment were not limited to this. After the introduction of alpha-1 antitrypsin, the total mass of islet beta cells, which serve as insulin microfactories, grew in mice. So far, no method of fighting diabetes has yet led to such an outcome. Harvard researchers believe that the results of their experiments fully justify the clinical testing of alpha-1 antitrypsin as a means against diabetes.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that prolastin and other medications containing alpha-1 antitrypsin as the main ingredient have been used in medicine for a couple of decades. They are prescribed to people whose body does not produce the necessary amounts of this protein due to gene mutations. Although alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency does not necessarily entail pathological consequences, it can lead to the development of pulmonary emphysema, as well as lesions of the heart and blood vessels. Alpha-1 antitrypsin preparations have been clinically tested and are considered quite safe.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru27.10.2008