Diabetes May Be Reversed From The Fat Cells

Filed in archive Developments , Research on October 8, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Brandon Laufenberg

Insulin resistance in obese laboratory mice has been rapidly reversed by University of California San Diegoresearchers by killing off "angry" immune cells that reside in obese fat and muscle tissue.

According to Jerrold Olefsky of the University of California, San Diego:

"We used a genetic 'trick' that allowed us to rapidly kill these macrophages. The treatment killed these cells within hours, and insulin resistance simply reversed itself. It argues strongly that macrophages are causative for the inflammation that leads to diabetes [in those who are obese]."

Reported in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, the findings suggest that treatments targeted at specific subsets of macrophage cells might offer a very effective new anti-diabetic therapy.