Well this is super exciting news!

“Two popular leukemia drugs, Gleevec and Sutent, kept lab mice from developing type 1 diabetes and put 80 percent of diabetic mice in remission, an international team said on Monday.”

The mice that went into remission happened after 8-10 weeks on the drug.

Can you imagine the potential for this? It could mean a cure is very close. But we’ve heard that several times over the last few years, so I won’t get (too) excited. Yet.

The article further quotes that, “The fact that the treated mice maintained normal blood glucose levels for some time after the drug treatment was stopped suggests that imatinib and sunitinib may be ‘reprogramming’ their immune systems in a permanent way.”

This makes a lot of sense to me, especially as someone who immediately had thyroid problems after my Type 1 diagnosis.

I know a real cure is probably a long way off, but this research but isn’t it a positive thing to hear about this type of research? It’s filled with such hope.

Post from: Blisstree

Leukemia Drugs Put a Stop to Type 1 Diabetes in Mice

It always amazes me when I find out the kind of research that scientists do in the quest to find a cure for diabetes. For example, the latest one I’ve heard is from a study out of UC Irvine and the University of South Carolina. In the study, they looked at mice and found that “male mice who were in a calmer, more monogamous species had a higher level of stress hormones and a superior ability to regulate blood sugar compared with mice in another species that is not as calm or monogamous.”

That isn’t to say, of course that monogamy has anything to do with getting diabetes! But it is interesting to note the stress factor.

~source

Post from: Blisstree

Monogamous Mice and Diabetes

With over 20 million diabetics and over 50 million “pre-diabetics” the race is certainly on to find new drugs, treatments and ultimately a cure.  Researchers have now used a “light bulb” type activator to help us see exactly what occurs during and after the process of eating and the physiology that accompanies it. 

Using a sensitive camera, the light–a direct measure of CREB/TORC2 activity–could be detected and measured from outside of the live mice. Using biochemical and genetic techniques to change the levels of various molecules in the pathway, including insulin and TORC2, the researchers measured the effect of these changes on the amount of light emitted from the liver.

The mice turned in to regular ol’ Christmas ornaments.  It is very cool and beneficial to be able to actually view in real time the effect of certain proteins, enzymes, glucose and ultimately insulin production. 

This type of research brings hope for being able to disect very particular process’ that occur within our bodies and ultimately produce new and better diabetic medications.

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Glowing Mice To Help Understand Type 2 Diabetes