Newly discovered hormone could yield new treatment for diabetes

Traditional methods for treating diabetes include daily insulin injections, a form of external intervention that is time-consuming at best, and could even lead to injuries with the needle prick.  Researchers at Harvard have identified a hormone in mice called betatropin that can increase beta cell production 17-fold in mice with diabetes.  (Slightly more recent articles indicate that number is now as high as 30-fold).   Beta cells are the specialized cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin, the hormone that triggers cells to take up glucose in the blood, thus lowering blood glucose levels.   This could be used to treat those who are just beginning to develop diabetes, a time when high blood sugar levels are damaging tissues and causing the body to be less responsive to insulin.   Just as important, this hormone could be used to "wean" patients off their dependency on external insulin, as injections may now be necessary every few weeks or months.  The researchers have confirmed that humans have the gene that codes for betatropin, and that betatropin is indeed present in human blood.  Betatropin does not address the issue of insulin-resistance of Type 2 diabetes, but it still has the main effect of lowering blood sugar.  Betatropin also could aid those with Type 1 diabetes, characterized by beta cell destruction.

I searched for diabetes topics because my grandfather suffered the condition.   This article interested me because we are learning about hormones in class.  We also looked at the example of insulin undergoing exocytosis in beta cells.  I think it's amazing how we can replace our own supplements with manipulations of the body; we can let the body do the difficult work.  http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/29/newly-discovered-hormone-could-yield-new-treatment-for-diabetes/