New Drugs Being Developed For Type 2 Diabetes

Filed in archive Research on January 23, 2007

As the rate of Type 2 diabetes rises, so does the number of drugs designed to treat it. Now, scientists are exploring a new medication that would attack diabetes from 'another angle.'

The research, which was published in the December 22, 2006, Journal of Biological Chemistry, should in time help researchers to identify potential targets for docking inhibitors that will slow down, but not fully eliminate, the body's overproduction of glucose.

The study investigates ways to control the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase -- a key enzyme involved in the metabolic pathway used by the human body to produce glucose. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase helps to control blood sugar levels during fasting. An overproduction of this enzyme, among other events, may lead to type 2 diabetes.

Interesting!