Scientists discover novel anti-diabetes mechanism

London, July 22 (ANI): Scientists have uncovered a new mechanism that dramatically increases insulin sensitivity and reduces the risk of developing type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The new study by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University focuses on controlling a fat-regulating protein known as PPARy.

Excessive body fat is considered the most important factor that increases the possibility of type-2 diabetes.

And the protein drives the conversion of cellular precursors into fat cells.

The study revealed that obesity causes a modification on PPARy and reduces production of an insulin-sensitizing protein.

This leads to an increase in insulin resistance.

The team was able to reverse this effect using certain drugs, which improved the production of the insulin-sensitizing protein.

"The great paradox of this whole effort is we're targeting a receptor critical for fat production to offset the problem of fat overproduction," Griffin said.

However, Griffin said that the negative effects of obesity extend far beyond metabolic syndrome to diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration, so further studies are still required.

The find is published in the journal Nature. (ANI)