Leptin A Potential Weapon In Fighting Diabetes

Filed in archive Research on September 28, 2006

The 'appetite hormone' leptin, which signals when we are 'full,' may be a powerful weapon in the fight against diabetes.

The hormone leptin could help keep the body from producing too much insulin, according to a study in mice with type 2 diabetes.

People with type 2 diabetes often become resistant to the effects of insulin, causing to much of it to build up in the body.

Reporting in the September issue of the journal Peptides, researchers from the University of Florida injected a gene into the brains of diabetic mice, hoping to increase the production of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin in the hypothalamus.

Insulin levels in mice that received gene therapy returned to normal -- even when they were fed a high-fat diet, the researchers found. High-fat diets typically help trigger or worsen type 2 diabetes.

This new, "unexpected" finding has many medical professionals, and diabetics, excited at the possibilities.

(Photo Source: Wellesley)