News tagged with insulin
Scientists link excess sugar to cancer
Sugars are needed to provide us with energy and in moderate amounts contribute to our well-being. Sustained high levels of sugars, as is found in diabetics, damages our cells and now is shown that can also ...
Medical research
Feb 01, 2013 |
4.7 / 5 (19) |
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Potential diabetes breakthrough: Researchers discover new hormone spurring beta cell production
Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have discovered a hormone that holds promise for a dramatically more effective treatment of type 2 diabetes, a metabolic illness afflicting an estimated ...
Medical research
Apr 25, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (12) |
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Study finds a spoonful of cinnamon improves health
Sprinkling a spoonful of cinnamon on breakfast foods not only adds a burst of flavor but also dramatically lowers an individual's blood sugar levels, potentially reducing the chance of developing diabetes, says a new study ...
Health
Feb 06, 2013 |
5 / 5 (11) |
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Gut microbe battles obesity
(Medical Xpress)—Akkermansia muciniphila is one of the many microbes that live in our intestines. This bacterium, which feeds on the intestine's mucus lining, comprises between 3 and 5 percent of the gut microbes of hea ...
Medical research
May 14, 2013 |
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Nutritional supplement may help prevent Alzheimer's, research suggests
(Medical Xpress)—A nutritional supplement available over-the-counter may offer protection from Alzheimer's disease, a study by the University of Virginia and Northwestern University suggests.
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
Jan 10, 2013 |
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Specific toxic byproduct of heat-processed food may lead to increased body weight and diabetes
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a common compound in the modern diet that could play a major role in the development of abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. The findings ...
Medical research
Aug 20, 2012 |
5 / 5 (8) |
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Villain stomach bug may have a sweet side: Researchers reveal how 'bad' gut bacteria may help control diabetes
A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach's ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to ...
Medical research
Feb 08, 2013 |
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Discovery of new hormone opens doors to new type 2 diabetes treatments
Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have discovered that a particular type of protein (hormone) found in fat cells helps regulate how glucose (blood sugar) is controlled and metabolized (used for energy) in ...
Diabetes
May 07, 2013 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
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Scientists make insulin-producing cells self-replicate
(Medical Xpress)—Scientists have discovered a hormone that causes the body's insulin-producing factories, beta cells, to churn out more of themselves. Having enough insulin is critical to regulating the amount of sugar ...
Medical research
Apr 29, 2013 |
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Clinical trial results support strategy for reversing type 1 diabetes
A phase I clinical trial has confirmed that use of a generic vaccine to raise levels of an immune system modulator can cause the death of autoimmune cells targeting the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas and temporarily ...
Diabetes
Aug 08, 2012 |
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Study finds important factor in fat storage and energy metabolism
As part of their ongoing research on the physiologic factors that contribute to the development of obesity, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists have identified a cell cycle transcriptional co-regulator – ...
Medical research
Jan 06, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Mechanisms regulating inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes, cancer identified
A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has identified epigenetic mechanisms that connect a variety of diseases associated with inflammation. Utilizing molecular analyses of gene expression ...
Immunology
Mar 01, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Circadian clock linked to obesity, diabetes and heart attacks
Disruption in the body's circadian rhythm can lead not only to obesity, but can also increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Medical research
Feb 21, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
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Scientists find molecular link to obesity and insulin resistance in mice
Flipping a newly discovered molecular switch in white fat cells enabled mice to eat a high-calorie diet without becoming obese or developing the inflammation that causes insulin resistance, report scientists ...
Medical research
Sep 27, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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New treatment aids weight loss, improves diabetes in monkeys
(HealthDay)—A new, lab-created antibody that mimics the action of a naturally occurring molecule causes weight loss in monkeys, researchers report.
Medical research
Nov 28, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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Insulin
More reference expression data
Insulin is a hormone that has extensive effects on metabolism and other body functions, such as vascular compliance. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stopping use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by body cells, and the body begins to use fat as an energy source, for example, by transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source. As its level is a central metabolic control mechanism, its status is also used as a control signal to other body systems (such as amino acid uptake by body cells). It has several other anabolic effects throughout the body. When control of insulin levels fails, diabetes mellitus results.
Insulin is used medically to treat some forms of diabetes mellitus. Patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus depend on external insulin (most commonly injected subcutaneously) for their survival because the hormone is no longer produced internally. Patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus are insulin resistant, and because of such resistance, may suffer from a relative insulin deficiency. Some patients with Type 2 diabetes may eventually require insulin when other medications fail to control blood glucose levels adequately.
Insulin is a peptide hormone composed of 51 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. It is produced in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. The name comes from the Latin insula for "island".
Insulin's structure varies slightly between species of animal. Insulin from animal sources differs somewhat in 'strength' (in carbohydrate metabolism control effects) in humans because of those variations. Porcine (pig) insulin is especially close to the human version.
For more information about Insulin, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
