Australian Researchers Hone In On Diabetes Gene

Scientists at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia have made progress in the study of a gene that is linked to Type 2 diabetes, as published in the journal Diabetes.

Id1 is a gene that when turned "on" interferes with the ability of beta cells' ability to produce insulin within the pancreas. In studies involving mice, the researches have found that the gene is expressed when the mice were fed high-fat diets. The gene normally remains dormant with a low-fat diet and regular exercise.

The scientists hope their discovery will lead to a drug that blocks the role of ID1 and keeps it "off" regardless of dietary and exercise habits. When the gene was blocked in mice, they were still protected from the disease even with high-fat diets. Medical procedures may also be developed to identify patients at risk for diabetes while still young by detecting high levels of ID1, allowing  diabetes care methods to be implemented to prevent the onset of the disease.

The findings support the methods that are currently employed in  managing diabetes, such as healthy diets and exercise, for prevention as well. Other factors such as stress and glucose levels also affect the normal functioning of the gene, and finding a specific drug to inhibit Id1 may be the next generation of  diabetes medication.

Diabetes Research!! Where It Stands Today

Diabetes is a lifelong chronic condition, in which the body does not produce enough or any insulin. Insulin is required for the body to function properly, as it needs this insulin to change the sugar from food into energy. Because of insufficient amount of insulin in the body, the sugar ends up staying in the blood, resulting in a higher blood sugar level than normal.

Although having high blood sugar level is not always the most alarming thing, though over an extended period of time it can cause a variety of health complications, including damage to the blood vessels, kidney, and many cardiovascular problems.

Diabetes Research:

As far as research on Diabetes is considered, we have come incredibly far, what with the technologically advanced world that we live in today. There has been some extensive diabetes research compiled over the years, at the hands of diabetes scientists.

These diabetes scientists are people with full-time academic positions at universities and then there are those that are employed by major pharmaceutical companies. Most of these scientists are funded by various diabetes associations and the majority of their research in their laboratories is actually performed by graduate students and scientists who have recently completed their research training before opening their own laboratories.

Out of all the diabetes research organizations in the world, the American Diabetes Association is by far one of the largest and most influential. They support both basic and clinical diabetes research aimed at the prevention, treatment and cure of the disease. The basic mission of the association is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of those currently suffering from it as much as possible.

The American Diabetes Association works by way of funding research, publishing scientific findings, and providing information and other services to people with diabetes and their families. They recently increased their support for diabetes research, from providing $18 million in 1999 to providing more than $45 million in 2006.

Although as of today there is no cure,but the way that diabetes research is looking right now makes us believe that there will be a cure sometime in the near future. As long as people contribute by donating money and organizations such as the American Diabetes Association continue working towards finding methods of treatment and cure for the disease. Diabetes research will only continue to expand and improve and help the lives of diabetes sufferers even more.

[tags]diabetes research, diabetes, diabetic, diabetes information[/tags]