There are many online resources where you can read the latest diabetes research. Diabetes is one of the fastest growing noncommunicable diseases worldwide. Affecting millions of people with treatments occupying significant portions of public health budgets, government, universities, and scientist are eagerly pursuing cutting-edge research to understand the disease, its complications, treatments, and the possibility of a cure. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) website has pages where patients can enroll in type 1 and 2 diabetes research clinical studies (http://t1diabetes.nih.gov/; http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/Research/ScientificAreas/Diabetes/Type2Diabetes/T2RX.htm). The Diabetes Research Institute provides “cure-focused” research, news resources, and advice for diabetics on their website (http://www.diabetesresearch.org/). The publication ScienceDaily has excellent articles on the latest diabetes research as well as other diseases, providing videos, photos, books and an RSS feed. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/diabetes/).
Latest Diabetes Cure Research – Type 1 Diabetes
The latest research from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in 2011 is on beta-cell regeneration and reprogramming. By the age of 10-12 the body loses its ability to create new beta-cells. Researchers at Stanford University have discovered the reason for beta-cell decline and have found a way to encourage old beta-cells to reproduce. Beyond the scope of diabetes, the revolutionary research may also be able to alter the way the body ages in general. The research team worked with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in mice, discovering that as the mice aged PDGF receptors decreased, preventing beta-cell reproduction. Moving into human research the researchers identified a protein in beta-cells that they could manipulate in order to reproduce the cells. Building on this research, the pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche is attempting to develop a drug that stimulates the growth of beta-cells, using the protein transmembrane protein 27 (Tmem27). For up-to-date research sponsored by JDF visit their website (http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=100686).
Latest Research on Diabetes – Type 2
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) funds research that compliments the National Institutes of Health research program. In an ADA-funded study from fall 2011, investigators examined saturated and unsaturated fats, examining the differences and why saturated fat is more likely to cause insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Another study funded by the ADA and conducted by Christopher Buettner, M.D. examined the effects of insulin in the brain, leading to the breakthrough discovery that it regulates fat metabolism. The twice-yearly ADA magazine Forefront Research publishes the latest research on a variety of fronts, including complications and beta-cell function. In addition, on the ADA website access is provided to the latest diabetes research through the ADA research database and patientINFORM (http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/research/). Individuals who would like to participate in clinical trials and diabetes research can also sign up on the ADA webpage.
