New Type Of 'Good' Fat Could Help Cure Diabetes:
"Scientists have added a new type of fat to the list of “good” fats that help keep us
healthy. So healthy, in fact, that this new fat may play a role in eventually
developing treatments to address Type 2 diabetes as well as inflammatory diseases
like Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, according to the research team behind
the discovery.
The fatty acid, called “FAHFA” (short for fatty acid hydroxyl acids), can be found in
human fat cells as well as other human cells, according to lead author Barbara Kahn,
a molecular endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor
at Harvard Medical School. FAHFA actually helps cells secrete insulin (a hormone that
helps regulate blood sugar) and it also improves insulin’s interactions with tissues in
the body. Those two mechanisms are crucial to helping keep blood sugar levels
down, which keeps Type 2 diabetes and obesity at bay."
See:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/1...usaolp00000592
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New diabetes breakthrough 'bigger than the discovery of insulin':
"There's no known cure for Type 1 diabetes, so for 3 million Americans, an insulin pump
or regular insulin injections form an imperfect and temporary solution. And it's one that
doesn't always keep some of the disease's worst outcomes, including blindness and
limb amputation, at bay.
Scientists have long sought a better solution, and a team at Harvard is now
announcing that, 15 years into its research, it has successfully coaxed human
embryonic stem cells into ones that produce insulin.
When those cells were transferred to diabetic mice, they behaved as healthy cells do
and regulated blood sugar. "We can cure their diabetes right away—in less than 10
days," researcher Doug Melton tells NPR.
Six months later, that was still the case, reports CBS News, which calls the research
possibly "the biggest breakthrough in years toward a cure." Because while scientists
have been able to achieve a similar end with insulin-producing cells sourced from
cadavers, they've struggled with how to get the quantity they needed."
See:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/1...overy-insulin/