Tag Archives: glucose

Red wine pill may be cure for diabetes

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San Francisco: Resveratrol, a substance found in red wine, may cure the symptoms of adult onset diabetes, according to the results of a new trial of a drug based on this ingredient.

The American company, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, says the trial demonstrates the drug is safe and cuts blood glucose levels, which are not controlled in diabetics, in results presented today at the 26th Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. The findings could lead to a new drug to control Type 2 Diabetes which now affects millions and the number continues to grow.

The 28-day study of pills to deliver a control, 2.5 gram or five grams of what it called SRT501 each to roughly 30 patients with Type 2 Diabetes in India.

The drug is also being tested on 130 patients in a Phase 2 study in combination with metformin, a drug therapy for Type 2 Diabetes, and results are expected later this year. Any anti-ageing effects have yet to be established.

The drug targets an enzyme called SIRT1, from the sirtuin family of enzymes which control the ageing process. The new drug, SRT501 acts by increasing the activity of the mitochondria, the energy powerhouse of our cells, and lowering levels of glucose in the blood and improving insulin sensitivity.

Brain exposure to insulin may damage longevity, say US scientists

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Los Angeles: Keeping a healthy weight may help people live longer by limiting brain exposure to insulin, say US scientists.

A study in mice found that reducing insulin signals inside brain cells increased lifespan.

In a report in the magazine Science, the researchers said a healthy lifestyle and weight reduce insulin levels in humans and may have the same effect.

Experts said, if proven, insulin would be just one of many factors, such as genes, that influence longevity.

Previous research in fruit flies and roundworms has suggested that reducing the activity of the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels, can increase lifespan.

The latest study looked at the effects of a protein, IRS2, which carries the insulin signal in the brain. Mice who had half the amount of the protein lived 18% longer than normal mice.

Despite being overweight and having high levels of insulin, the mice were more active as they aged, and their glucose metabolism resembled that of younger mice.

The researchers said the engineered mice were living longer because the diseases that kill them, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, were being postponed due to reduced insulin signalling in the brain, even though circulating levels of insulin were high.

They said, in the future, it may be possible to design drugs to reduce IRS2 activity to reproduce the same effect, although they would have to be specific to the brain.

Study leader Dr Morris White, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said the simplest way to encourage longevity was to limit insulin levels by exercising and eating a healthy diet.

He said: “Our findings put a mechanism behind what your mother told when you were growing up – eat a good diet and exercise, and it will keep you healthy.

“Diet, exercise and lower weight keep your peripheral tissues sensitive to insulin.

“That reduces the amount and duration of insulin secretion needed to keep your glucose under control when you eat.

“Therefore, the brain is exposed to less insulin.”

This is an interesting study as the work done on mice could suggest that insulin is playing a role in the ageing process

His team is now planning to look at possible links between IRS2 signalling and dementia, which research has shown is associated with obesity and high insulin levels.

Pychnolgenol more powerful than drugs in lowering blood sugar, says new report

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London: A new study to be published in the journal of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice reveals that French maritime pine tree extract known as Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all) delays the uptake of glucose from a meal 190 times more than prescription medications, preventing the typical high glucose peak in the blood stream after a meal.

The study revealed the pine bark is more potent for suppressing carbohydrate absorption in diabetes than synthetic prescription
alpha-glucosidase inhibitors such as Precose®. “Diabetes mellitus type II is a serious disease with rising prevalence,” said Dr. Petra Högger, a lead researcher of this study.

“This study is crucial for those suffering with the disease because it affirms that Pycnogenol® is more effective than prescription medication Precose® and supports the abundance of other research done on Pycnogenol® and diabetes.”

The study was conducted at the University of Wurzburg Germany. Dr. Högger investigated the interaction of Pycnogenol® with the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, which breaks down carbohydrates in a meal. Results revealed Pycnogenol® is 190 times more potent for inhibition of alpha-glucosidase than the synthetic inhibitor acarbose, a common prescription medication for treatment of type II diabetes (sold in Europe under the name Glucobay® and the United States under the name Precose™). Pycnogenol® was shown to inhibit the intestinal enzymes (alpha-glucosidase) involved in the digestion of complex carbohydrates such as starch and normal table sugar. The alpha-glucosidase breaks down carbohydrates into glucose molecules which are then absorbed into the blood stream. “The high concentration of procyanidins (flavonoids) found in Pycnogenol® is responsible for demonstrating these excellent results,” said Högger.

According to Högger, the large procyanidin molecules were found to be particularly active for inhibiting the activity of alpha-glucosidase, thus demonstrating such notable results. “The carbohydrates enter the blood stream steadily over prolonged periods of time, which makes meals last longer and prolong satiety.”

In two separate studies conducted in 2004, Pycnogenol® was found to significantly lower blood sugar levels in type II diabetes patients. A study published in the March 2004 edition of Diabetes Care revealed that patients who supplemented with Pycnogenol® experienced lower blood sugar after meals and lower fasting blood sugar.

Another study published in the October edition of Life Sciences revealed a significantly further lowered blood glucose level in patients who supplemented with Pycnogenol® while continuing their anti-diabetic medication with acarbose and metformin.

About Pycnogenol® Pycnogenol® is a natural plant extract originating from the bark of the maritime pine that grows along the coast of southwest France and is found to contain a unique combination of procyanidins, bioflavonoids and organic acids, which offer extensive natural health benefits. The extract has been widely studied for the past 35 years and has more than 220 published studies and review articles ensuring safety and efficacy as an ingredient.

Today, Pycnogenol® is available in more than 600 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products worldwide. For more information, visit
www.pycnogenol.com

Red wine may act to control diabetes

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New York: The longevity ingredient, resveratrol, which is found in red wine and grapes can offset some of the symptoms of overeating.

According to researchers at the National Institute on Ageing at Harvard Medical School resveratrol lowers blood sugar (glucose) and assists both liver and heart function.

Previous studies have already shown that resveratrol slows down the ageing process in various non-mammals.

In this new study published in the journal Nature , the scientists wanted to see what the effects of resveratrol might be on mammals.

They had lab rats which were fed 60% calories coming from fat. The rats were obese, had insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases. The rats were split into two test groups. One group continued to eat 60% of calories from fat, while the other group had the same diet, but with resveratrol added to it.

The rats receiving resveratrol had lower glucose levels, their hearts became healthier, as did their liver tissue. The scientists also noticed that the rats that consumed resveratrol were more nimble on their feet, compared to the other group.

Even though the resveratrol-fed mice did not lose any weight, their health became as good as that of a mouse on a normal diet. Although the non-resveratrol fed mice continued to have a short lifespan, the resveratrol-fed mice lived as long as mice on a normal diet. It is thought that resveratrol activates SIRT1, a gene associated with longevity.

If this outcome was repeated in humans resveratrol could help prevent obese people from developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and some other illnesses, say the researchers.

New research shows second-hand smoke raises diabetes risk

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Birmingham: Breathing other people’s cigarette smoke raises the risk of developing glucose intolerance, the precursor to diabetes, a new study published on the British Medical Journal online www.bmj.com reveals.

The US research also shows that overall, white Americans are more susceptible to this effect than African-Americans.

Researchers examined 4572 men and women in four US cities, dividing them into four categories of smoking status: ranging from those who smoked, to those who had neither smoked nor breathed in other peopleÂ’s smoke. The study focussed only on those who were white or African-American.

The authors then tracked how many participants developed glucose intolerance – where the body can no longer produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar – over 15 years of follow-up.

The study found that smokers had the highest risk, with 22% of them getting the disease over the study period. Non-smokers who had no exposure to second-hand smoke had the lowest risk, with less than 12% developing the condition.

But 17% of those who had never smoked themselves but were subject to second-hand smoke also developed glucose intolerance – higher than the 14% risk rate in the group who had previously smoked and given up.

Those breathing second-hand smoke are exposed to many toxins, say the authors. And the chemical reactions which produce second-hand smoke mean that some of those toxins may be at even higher concentrations than the levels breathed in directly by smokers. If one of these toxins particularly affects the pancreas – the organ which produces insulin – this may explain the findings, they suggest.

Until now, it had not been known that those breathing second-hand smoke faced an increased risk of diabetes, say the researchers. More studies are now needed, they conclude.

Click here to view full paper:http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/april/hout264671.pdf