Type 2 diabetes research considers endothelial dysfunction
Type 2 diabetes research considers endothelial dysfunction
A new study has looked at fat levels in the blood and how this can contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, USA, looked at mice lacking in the PPAR-gamma protein and were able to identify a new function which is altered by endothelial dysfunction.
The subjects were fed a high-fat diet in order to replicate the diabetic risk that many humans put themselves in - and found they did not get as fat as normal mice.
"However, the amount of several fats in the blood of these engineered mice was abnormally high, indicating that they could not control the cellular processes that regulate fat levels in the blood," a statement accompanying the study notes.
It is hoped further research looking at endothelial dysfunction as one of the early indications of type 2 diabetes development could be aided by the studies.
Earlier this week, scientists at Oxford University in the UK revealed the details of a new mouse model which could give more insight into the development of neonatal diabetes in humans.
10 Dec 2008
EPG Online & Software Production
