About one in every 800 people in the US has diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus, also known as type 1 diabetes or child-onset diabetes, is a chronic, autoimmune disorder. It is characterized by the pancreas’s inability to produce insulin, which results in high blood glucose levels.

Diabetes mellitus has been solely linked to the immune system, however a research group called SickKids has been looking for a link with the nervous system. They recently found a connection between the pancreas’s ability to secrete insulin and sensory (pain) nerves. They found that this sensory control circuit doesn’t release enough neuropeptides to activate insulin secretion. By researching on diabetic mice, the SickKids research group, along with the help of University of Toronto, found a way to supply neuropeptides and reverse diabetes in these mice. They have plans to extend this study to diabetes insipidus as well and this amazing discovery can soon be perfected to be extended to humans. The cure for diabetes lies in the close future.

-Amy Shah

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 at 9:28 pm and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.