A hormone that improves insulin
function found!
New York, Feb 1: A
researcher has found that adropin, a hormone that regulates whether the body
burns fat or sugar during feeding and fasting cycles, can improve insulin
action in obese, diabetic mice. It suggests that the hormone may work as a
therapy for type 2 diabetes. The study appeared in the journal Molecular
Metabolism.
Adropin – a hormone regulating metabolic homeostasis
Andrew Butler, professor of pharmacological and
physiological science at Saint Louis University in the US explains, ‘Adropin is
a poorly understood hormone. We first reported its discovery a little over six
years ago, but we really didn’t understand what it did. We knew it played a
role in maintaining metabolic health, but we didn’t know much beyond that.’
He further added, ‘Our work suggests that adropin plays a
role in regulating metabolic (energy) homeostasis.’
What the researchers find?
When the team measured adropin levels in mice, they were
suppressed under fasting conditions and stimulated after feeding, suggesting
functions related to the changes in metabolism that occur with feeding and
fasting.
Basically, when you are well fed, your body prefers to use
glucose and the release of adropin supports this change by enhancing the use of
glucose as a metabolic fuel in muscle. ‘However, when you are fasting, your
body prefers to use fatty acids. Our observations suggest that a decline in
adropin with fasting may be a signal to ‘take the brakes off’ the use of fatty
acids,’ he added.
Building on that work, the paper reports that low levels
of the hormone observed in obesity may contribute to diabetes and the reduced
ability of the body to use glucose. Butler describes the finding as an
encouraging lead in the search for new treatments for impaired glucose
tolerance.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
02.02.2015
Human DNA holds clue to how long a
person will live
Washington, Jan 31: How
long does a person live? Researchers from the University of Edinburgh say that
the answer to this question lies in their DNA. A group of scientists have
identified that a biological clock in human DNA can tell a person’s longevity.
DNA methylation – How is it related to longevity?
The researchers at University of Edinburgh studied DNA
methylation, a chemical modification of DNA (that takes place during the
process of DND replication). This process occurs over a person’s lifetime and
can help to predict an individual’s age when an individuals’ actual age is
compared with their predicted biological clock age. The scientists
observed a pattern emerging on doing this process.
Although this modification does not change the DNA
sequence, it plays a key role in the biological processes and also influences
the genes activation and inhibition. The DNA methylation changes can affect
many genes and it occurs throughout a person’s life.
How were the results interpreted?
The results stated that people whose biological age was
greater than their true age were more likely to die sooner than those whose
biological and actual ages were the same. Even after accounting for other
factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular
disease, researchers found that the link between having a
faster-running biological clock and early death held true.
Earlier studies vs the current study
Riccardo Marioni, a researcher said that the same results
in four studies indicated a link between the biological clock and deaths from
all the above listed causes. However, at present, it is not very clear about
what factors (lifestyle or genetic) influence a person’s biological age. They
have several follow-up study projects that are planned to investigate this
matter in detail.
Researcher Ian Deary said, ‘This research increases our
understanding of longevity and healthy ageing, which is very exciting as it has
identified a novel indicator of ageing. This study improves the prediction of
lifespan over and above many contributory factors such as smoking, diabetes and
cardiovascular disease.’
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
02.02.2015
It is possible to fail in many
ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way
Aristole
No comments:
Post a Comment