In tests on mice the newly discovered betatrophin hormone causes a thirty-fold increase in insulin-producing beta cells. It is now believed that betatrophin could revolutionize the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers at the prestigious Harvard University believe that betatrophin may even be capable of stopping type 2 diabetes in its tracks. ‘It could eventually mean that, instead of taking insulin injections three times a day, you might be able to take this hormone once a week or once a month, or in the best case, maybe once a year,’ they said. This would certainly be a big improvement on the several injections that are presently necessary each day to keep the condition under control.
In type 2 diabetes the cells in the pancreas fail to produce sufficient quantities of insulin—vital for turning sugar into energy—and the insulin that is produced does not work correctly.
At the onset, the condition may be successfully controlled by adhering to a stringent diet and exercise regime. As time progresses, however, many diabetes sufferers will find they need tablets or injections.
Rather than try to find an alternative to providing insulin, the Harvard researchers decided to search for a way to boost insulin production in the body. Betatrophin is the result.
Diabetes is more common now than ever before and the high blood sugar levels associated with the disease can have severe complications such as nerve and circulatory damage, blindness, and heart disease. Researcher, Professor Doug Melton, said that the discovery had left him so excited that he could hardly sleep, but stressed that further tests are necessary, meaning that it may be a decade before betatrophin reaches the market.
