Link Between Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes Better Understood

Filed in archive Research on June 30, 2006

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida has helped clear up some of the mysteries surrounding the link between
cystic fibrosis and diabetes.

Now a University of Florida study in animals suggests diabetes in cystic fibrosis patients is not caused by the destruction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas - as is often the case in patients with the traditional form of type 1 diabetes - but by differences in how these cells function.

Cystic fibrosis patients with diabetes produce some insulin on their own, but they require daily injections to boost their levels when eating so they can properly use sugar and other food nutrients for energy. At times they also become very resistant to the insulin they do make, similar to people with type 2 diabetes.

"For the longest time, the development of diabetes in cystic fibrosis has been thought to be chronic destruction of pancreas, so eventually you get loss of the insulin-producing beta cells," said Dr. Michael Stalvey, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UF. "Our study provides some early evidence to suggest there is an inherent difference in beta cell function."

This research is especially important, considering diabetes lowers life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis by 2 years in men, and by 16(!) years in women.

(Photo Source: BRET)