According to a study published in Nature, researchers have developed a drug that not only can prevent type 2 diabetes, but can also reduce the progression of this disease. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, scientists from CSL’s research laboratories in Melbourne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Dr Andrew Nash, Senior Vice President of Research at CSL, said the results of this study represent a new hope for millions of people suffering from type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is one of the most common diseases of the modern world. It is important to know that type 2 diabetes is associated with metabolic syndrome, ie with obesity and hypertension. Type 2 diabetes can also be a lifestyle consequence . Diabetes mellitus is characterized by elevated blood glucose. In other words the resulting glucose can not enter cells and used as energy source, instead it remains in the blood stream. The passage of glucose into cells is facilitated by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Hyperglycemia has many health consequences which over time can lead to complications such as blindness or kidney problems (diabetic nephropathy). The most common symptoms of diabetes are polyuria, polyphagia and polydipsia. Just like obesity, diabetes that does not hurt making it very dangerous and discovered incidentally.