Post by kelvin on Dec 15, 2006 15:44:28 GMT -5
URL: www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061214.wdiabetes1214/BNStory/Science/home
Canadian researchers make diabetes discovery
Canadian Press
Posted AT 1:37 PM EST ON 14/12/06
Toronto — Canadian researchers have found that abnormalities in pain-related nerve endings in the pancreatic cells that produce insulin appear to play a role in the development of Type 1 diabetes.
The scientists say the discovery could not only lead to new treatments for the disease, but point the way to preventing it completely.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects about 200,000 Canadians, and research has focused on the immune system as the sole trigger of the disease.
But in studies of mice that are prone to diabetes, researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Calgary found an unsuspected control circuit between insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and their associated sensory, or pain, nerves.
Principal researcher Dr. Michael Dosch of Sick Kids Hospital says his team found that removing these nerve cells prevented the destruction of cells that secrete insulin, and diabetes did not develop in most of the animals.
Dr. Dosch says his lab is planning to begin studies in people with a family history of diabetes to see if they have abnormal pain sensitivity that might contribute to the development of diabetes.
The study will be published in this week's edition of the journal Cell.
Canadian researchers make diabetes discovery
Canadian Press
Posted AT 1:37 PM EST ON 14/12/06
Toronto — Canadian researchers have found that abnormalities in pain-related nerve endings in the pancreatic cells that produce insulin appear to play a role in the development of Type 1 diabetes.
The scientists say the discovery could not only lead to new treatments for the disease, but point the way to preventing it completely.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects about 200,000 Canadians, and research has focused on the immune system as the sole trigger of the disease.
But in studies of mice that are prone to diabetes, researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Calgary found an unsuspected control circuit between insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and their associated sensory, or pain, nerves.
Principal researcher Dr. Michael Dosch of Sick Kids Hospital says his team found that removing these nerve cells prevented the destruction of cells that secrete insulin, and diabetes did not develop in most of the animals.
Dr. Dosch says his lab is planning to begin studies in people with a family history of diabetes to see if they have abnormal pain sensitivity that might contribute to the development of diabetes.
The study will be published in this week's edition of the journal Cell.