Study helps clarify link between high-fat diet and type 2 diabetes
April 11, 2011 in Medical researchA diet high in saturated fat is a key contributor to type 2 diabetes, a major health threat worldwide. Several decades ago scientists noticed that people with type 2 diabetes have overly active immune responses, leaving their bodies rife with inflammatory chemicals.
In addition, people who acquire the disease are typically obese and are resistant to insulin, the hormone that removes sugar from the blood and stores it as energy.
For years no one has known exactly how the three characteristics are related. But a handful of studies suggest that they are inextricably linked.
New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine adds clarity to the connection. The study published online April 10 in the journal Nature Immunology finds that saturated fatty acids but not the unsaturated type can activate immune cells to produce an inflammatory protein, called interleukin-1beta.
"The cellular path that mediates fatty acid metabolism is also the one that causes interleukin-1beta production," says senior study co-author Jenny Y. Ting, PhD, William Kenan Rand Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
"Interleukin-1beta then acts on tissues and organs such as the liver, muscle and fat (adipose) to turn off their response to insulin, making them insulin resistant. As a result, activation of this pathway by fatty acid can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes symptoms." Ting is also a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the UNC Inflammatory Diseases Institute.
Provided by
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
-
Fatty liver may herald impending type 2 diabetes
Feb 24, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Cytokine resistance contributes to pathology of type 2 diabetes
Jun 14, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Weight loss more effective than intensive insulin therapy for type 2 diabetics
Mar 12, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Trans-fatty acids and insulin sensitivity
Jul 08, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study finds molecular link between insulin resistance and inflammation
Aug 26, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Seeing is as seeing does: Spatially-structured retinal input in early development of cortical maps
Apr 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Dreamless nights: Brain activity during nonrapid eye movement sleep
Apr 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
0
-
Take your time: Neurobiology sheds light on the superiority of spaced vs. massed learning
Mar 28, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
-
Your brain on 'shrooms: fMRI elucidates neural correlates of psilocybin psychedelic state
Feb 29, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (42) |
45
-
Your brain on dye: Imaging neuronal voltage with fluorescent sensors and molecular wires
Feb 24, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
0
-
A couple of questions about schizophrenia
May 17, 2012
-
Paralyzed woman uses thoughts to move robotic arm
May 17, 2012
-
Coffee Decreases Risk of Death
May 17, 2012
-
Understanding the mechanisms of disease .
May 14, 2012
-
Short burst of hypersensitivity disorder?
May 13, 2012
-
Copper aspirinate
May 12, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Stopping cell migration may help block fibrosis and the spread of cancer
(Medical Xpress) -- Discoveries by a Yale-led team of scientists could lead the way for development of new therapies for treating fibrosis and tumor metastasis. The researchers have both uncovered a signaling ...
Medical research
19 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Hitting parasites where they hurt: New research shows promise in the fight against Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common parasitic infections in the world. In the U.S. it is estimated that more than 22 percent of the population 12 years and older have ...
Medical research
4 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Drug found for Entamoeba histolytica parasite that is major cause of death worldwide
Research by a collaborative group of scientists from UC San Diego School of Medicine, UC San Francisco and Wake Forest School of Medicine has led to identification of an existing drug that is effective against ...
Medical research
20 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
When you eat matters: Study offers drug-free intervention to prevent obesity, diabetes
It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override ...
Medical research
May 17, 2012 |
5 / 5 (15) |
7
|
Pain relief through distraction -- it's not all in your head
Mental distractions make pain easier to take, and those pain-relieving effects aren't just in your head, according to a report published online on May 17 in Current Biology.
Medical research
May 17, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
2
|
Creatine may protect liver from fatty diet
(Medical Xpress) -- A collaborative study involving researchers at the University of Alberta, the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland has shown that creatine, ...
Is the U.S. ready for home HIV tests?
At the pharmacy, you can buy anything from tea kettles to Tylenol. But what if you could buy a rapid HIV test over the counter and test yourself in the privacy of your own home?
New drug shrinks brain tumours in melanoma patients
(Medical Xpress) -- Australian researchers have reported promising results with a new drug that shrinks brain tumours in melanoma patients. Their findings are published in The Lancet medical journal today. ...
Study debunks idea that foreign health aid rife with waste
(Medical Xpress) -- When a 2010 study concluded that about half the money given to international governments for providing health-care services isn’t used as intended, skeptics who argued that foreign aid is largely ...
Tuberculosis increases the risk of lung cancer mortality in the elderly
Tuberculosis independently predicts death from lung cancer in the elderly, according to a new study from researchers in Hong Kong.
Oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism
(Medical Xpress) -- Preliminary results from an ongoing, large-scale study by Yale School of Medicine researchers shows that oxytocin — a naturally occurring substance produced in the brain and throughout ...
