Chemical produced in pancreas prevented and reversed diabetes in mice
The significance of GABA is that it corrects both known causes of Type 1 diabetes in mice
2011-06-28
(Press-News.org) TORONTO, Ont., June 28, 2011—A chemical produced by the same cells that make insulin in the pancreas prevented and even reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found.
Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is characterized by the immune system's destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas that make and secrete insulin. As a result, the body makes little or no insulin.
The only conventional treatment for Type 1 diabetes is insulin injection, but insulin is not a cure as it does not prevent or reverse the loss of beta cells.
A team led by Dr. Qinghua Wang, in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, and Dr. Gerald Prud'homme, in the division of pathology, has studied the role of GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, an amino acid produced by beta cells in the pancreas. The research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Canadian Diabetes Association.
The researchers found that GABA injections not only prevented diabetes in mice, but even reversed the disease. Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The significance of GABA is that it corrects both known causes of Type 1 diabetes in mice: It works in the pancreas to regenerate insulin-producing beta cells and it acts on the immune system to stop the destruction of those cells. Those two actions are necessary to reverse the disease and prevent its recurrence. Until now, there has been no effective treatment that achieves both goals at the same time.
GABA has been known for decades to be a key neurotransmitter in the brain, a chemical that nerve cells use to communicate with each other, but its role in the pancreas was unknown. The St. Michael's study is the first to identify and describe GABA's importance in regulating the survival and function of pancreatic beta cells in mice.
GABA and related therapies will have to be tested in human clinical trials before they can be considered as a new treatment for Type 1 diabetes, said Dr. Wang.
"GABA is the first agent to act both by protecting the insulin-producing cells from damage and by decreasing the body's immune reaction against these cells," said Dr. Gary F. Lewis, incoming director of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre and Director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Toronto, where insulin was discovered 90 years ago.
"The body's immune reaction against its own insulin-producing cells is responsible for most of the damage that leads to the development of type 1 diabetes. This exciting observation may open up new avenues for the prevention and treatment of Type 1 diabetes in humans."
Drs. Wang and Prud'homme are both clinician scientists in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital. In addition, Dr. Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto and Dr. Prud'homme is a professor in the university's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology.
"Diabetes research such as this brings us closer to a cure," said Michael Cloutier,
president and CEO at the Canadian Diabetes Association. "We are excited to be a part
of this significant discovery and look forward to the outcomes of clinical studies."
INFORMATION:
About St. Michael's Hospital
St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, and care of the homeless are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.
For more information please contact:
Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
Phone: 416-864-6094 or 647-300-1753
shepherdl@smh.ca
St. Michael's Hospital
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science.
www.stmichaelshospital.com
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stmikeshospital
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-06-28
EVANSTON, Ill. --- To many, a tax on soda is a no-brainer in advancing the nation's war on obesity. Advocates point to a number of studies in recent years that conclude that sugary drinks have a lot to do with why Americans are getting fatter.
But obese people tend to drink diet sodas, and therefore taxing soft drinks with added sugar or other sweeteners is not a good weapon in combating obesity, according to a new Northwestern University study.
An amendment to Illinois Senate Bill 396 would add a penny an ounce to the cost of most soft drinks with added sugar or sweeteners, ...
2011-06-28
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Inkjet printers, a low-cost technology that in recent decades has revolutionized home and small office printing, may soon offer similar benefits for the future of solar energy.
Engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way for the first time to create successful "CIGS" solar devices with inkjet printing, in work that reduces raw material waste by 90 percent and will significantly lower the cost of producing solar energy cells with some very promising compounds.
High performing, rapidly produced, ultra-low cost, thin film solar electronics ...
2011-06-28
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The pen may have bested the sword long ago, but now it's challenging wires and soldering irons.
University of Illinois engineers have developed a silver-inked rollerball pen capable of writing electrical circuits and interconnects on paper, wood and other surfaces. The pen is writing whole new chapters in low-cost, flexible and disposable electronics.
Led by Jennifer Lewis, the Hans Thurnauer professor of materials science and engineering at the U. of I., and Jennifer Bernhard, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, the team published ...
2011-06-28
Stepladders, a household product used by thousands of people every day, are a surprisingly common cause of injury. In 2009, more than 187,000 Americans visited the hospital after sustaining stepladder injuries, many of which resulted from a fall. A recent human factors/ergonomics study explores how improved design and user behavior can decrease the likelihood of future accidents.
In their upcoming HFES 55th Annual Meeting presentation, "The Role of Human Balance in Stepladder Accidents," HF/E researchers Daniel Tichon, Lowell Baker, and Irving Ojalvo review research ...
2011-06-28
Cambridge, Mass. - June 28, 2011 - At a glance, a painting by Jackson Pollock (1912) can look deceptively accidental: just a quick flick of color on a canvas.
A quantitative analysis of Pollock's streams, drips, and coils, by Harvard mathematician L. Mahadevan and collaborators at Boston College, reveals, however, that the artist had to be slow—he had to be deliberate—to exploit fluid dynamics in the way that he did.
The finding, published in Physics Today, represents a rare collision between mathematics, physics, and art history, providing new insight into ...
2011-06-28
Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 28, 2011) – Most of us have had a doctor prescribe an antibiotic for a stubborn bacterial infection, or for a cut that gets infected. However, prescribing an antibiotic to fight cancer? In fact, anti-cancer antibiotics have been used since the 1950s to successfully treat several forms of cancer, but often the side effects limit the duration they can be given to a patient.
One particularly promising anti-cancer antibiotic is Geldanamycin and a modified form of this drug known as 17AAG. Despite its proven ability to selectively kill many ...
2011-06-28
Some areas of the southern United States are suffering from the longest dry spell since 1887 and a new Baylor University study shows that could prove problematic for aquatic organisms.
The Baylor study found that drought conditions make some chemicals in the environment more toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Specifically, the study found that drought conditions exacerbate the magnitudes of the natural pH shifts in the water. This is important, the researchers said, because some contaminants in the water, such as ammonia, are more toxic to aquatic life depending on ...
2011-06-28
West Virginia administrators are making the most of their budget dollars by finding innovative solutions that streamline processes and increase efficiency in their districts. One cost-saving measure includes finding more cost-effective ways to conduct staff training, which has historically been done during in-service days, in a group setting. While effective in years past, this method takes teachers out of the classroom and can be quite expensive. As districts look to maximize budgets, Kanawha County Schools and Wood County Schools are leading the way by taking their staff ...
2011-06-28
An international team of researchers says abortion stigma is under-researched, under theorized and over emphasized in one category: women who've had abortions. As a result, they're launching a new direction into research that explores the social stigma surrounding abortion.
Their invited paper, "Abortion Stigma: A Reconceptualization of Constituents, Causes, and Consequences," is published in the current journal, Women's Health Issues (Vol. 21, issue 3, supplement). The team of researchers is represented by The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; ...
2011-06-28
At a recent Kavli Futures Symposium, 19 experts from a diverse range of fields discussed the promise of using the lab to understand and exploit the evolution of organisms -- progress that may one day lead to new vaccines or other biotechnology products.
Now, three of the participants have joined in a discussion of the issues and topics raised during the meeting: Michael Brenner, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and member of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University; ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Chemical produced in pancreas prevented and reversed diabetes in mice
The significance of GABA is that it corrects both known causes of Type 1 diabetes in mice
