Goteborg [Sweden], September 30 (ANI): One novel approach to treating type 1 diabetes may involve blocking the somatostatin hormone to stop harmful blood glucose dips. A study carried out at the University of Gothenburg, among other places, has demonstrated this. It is claimed that the suggested course of action could save lives.
When blood glucose levels fall in healthy people, the hormone glucagon is released, which aids the liver in producing glucose and brings blood glucose levels back to normal. Glucagon raises blood glucose levels in the body in the opposite way that insulin does. The pancreas produces both hormones.
Not only do those with type 1 diabetes lack glucagon, but they also lack insulin. Dangerously low blood sugar results from the failure of glucagon to be produced during a dip in blood sugar. The current study, which is published in the journal Nature Metabolism, presents a new potential treatment strategy against dangerous blood sugar drops in type 1 diabetes.
One of the leading researchers is Patrik Rorsman, Professor of Cellular Endocrinology at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and also active at the University of Oxford. The researchers examined groups of hormone-producing cells from the pancreas of both humans and mice. They were able to show that in type 1 diabetes, these islets are unable to release glucagon when blood sugar is low.
This is because the hormone somatostatin is released in greater amounts in type 1 diabetes and in.
