Diabetes Research

More young people and adults in their 30s and 40s are being hospitalized for stroke, even as stroke rates are dropping in older people, new data show. The findings, reported this week at the American Stroke Association conference in Dallas, may be a sign that that rising rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure among teenagers and young adults are taking a toll. Or it may simply be that physicians have improved their diagnosis and reporting of stroke in young people during the past decade.

Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal website. While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.

An ingredient found in abundance in birch bark appears to have an array of metabolic benefits, according to new studies in animals that are reported in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and collaborators from other institutions have identified a natural substance in dairy fat that may substantially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The compound, trans-palmitoleic acid, is a fatty acid found in milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. It is not produced by the body and so only comes from the diet.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated that certain T cells require input from monocytes in order to maintain their pro-inflammatory response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study also showed, for the first time, how a loss in homeostasis in this group of T cells most likely promotes chronic inflammation associated with T2D.

Australian scientists have shown for the first time that even modest weight loss reverses many of the damaging changes often seen in the immune cells of obese people, particularly those with Type 2 diabetes.

The brain contains more cholesterol than any other organ in the body, has to produce its own cholesterol and won't function normally if it doesn't churn out enough. Defects in cholesterol metabolism have been linked with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Now researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that diabetes can affect how much cholesterol the brain can make.

Metformin, a drug used in type 2-diabetes might have the potential to also act against Alzheimer's disease. This has been shown in a study from scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the University of Dundee and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics.

New findings by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest that serotonin -- a brain chemical known to help regulate emotion, mood and sleep -- might also have anti-diabetic properties.

United States and Japanese researchers have identified a key step in metabolic pathways linked to diabetes and cancer. The study on activation...

Researchers have identified a hormone produced and secreted by the liver as a previously unknown cause of insulin resistance. The findings, in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, suggest a new target for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, the researchers say.

A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. According to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, the study provides empirical evidence that intake of sugary beverages should be limited to reduce risk of these conditions.