Diabetes Cure for Mice in Toronto

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

13 Jul 2008 01:13 PM

Scientists in Toronto have managed to relieve diabetes in mice... starting with a relatively common food item.

Researchers took a look at the similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis -- a disease of the central nervous system. The pancreas (where insulin is produced) has "islets" that produce insulin that help the body process food and manage blood sugar. However, the researchers saw a large number of pain neurons around these islets.

Using the idea that diabetes may be linked to the presence of these pain neurons, researchers injected capsaicin (the thing that makes hot peppers hot) into nerve cells near insulin-producing islets of the pancreas. The idea being that the capsaicin would kill the pain neurons. Without the pain neurons inflaming the islets, researchers hoped pancreatic operation would return to normal.

And it worked. The islets began to produce insulin normally almost immediately. The researchers were shocked. It seems that the nerve cells near the islets give off neuropeptides that are essential for islet function. When the pain cells are in the area, they can interfere with the release of the neuropeptides -- thus interfering with insulin production.

The researchers next injected the neuropeptide into the pancreases of diabetic mice, hoping to reverse damage from the inflammation caused by the pain neurons. It worked, too. The islets returned to normal function -- without inflammation -- and the diabetes disappeared. In some mice, the disease disappeared for as long as four months with just one neuropeptide treatment.

The capsaicin and neuropeptide treatments also helped rein in insulin resistance that is common in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Will the cure work in human subjects? It would be great if it does, but we may be looking at years (if not decades) of testing and trials before a diabetes cure is a reality.

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