Saturday, March 11, 2006
Diabetic complications rooted in faulty cell repair
Scientists say they may have discovered why diabetes patients are prone to diseased blood vessels and a host of complications, a finding that could lead to treatments.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body either stops making or cannot properly use the hormone insulin. Insulin is needed to process glucose (blood sugar), the body's primary fuel.
Researchers at the University of Florida explored why people with diabetes have increased risk of disorders of the blood vessels and vascular complications such as heart conditions and stroke. They suggest that the problem is at least partly due to failure of cells created in bone marrow to repair damage to the lining of blood vessels (endothelium), leading to complications such as atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") and the eye disease diabetic retinopathy.
The scientists studied vascular repair cells in blood samples taken from volunteers with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. These cells could not move normally. However, they became more flexible and mobile when the researchers added nitric oxide, a gas that occurs naturally in the body. Many diabetic individuals have low levels of nitric oxide, which promotes the functioning and repair of blood vessels.
"The benefit of this is that when cells have improved movement they are able to repair the endothelium better and perhaps prevent atherosclerosis," researcher Dr. Mark S. Segal reported.
"The importance of this is related to other work that has shown that many drugs being used on the market today actually affect nitric oxide levels within these cells. So someday there may be two ways to help people whose cells may not function as well as they should. One is through certain medications - there may be a way we could actually give medications that would affect the nitric oxide levels within these cells and enhance their migratory ability. The other is through certain instances where we might actually collect these cells, treat them with nitric oxide outside the body and give them back to patients, to help improve the cells' migration ability," Segal concluded.
Source : Healthcentersonline
Diabetes is a condition in which the body either stops making or cannot properly use the hormone insulin. Insulin is needed to process glucose (blood sugar), the body's primary fuel.
Researchers at the University of Florida explored why people with diabetes have increased risk of disorders of the blood vessels and vascular complications such as heart conditions and stroke. They suggest that the problem is at least partly due to failure of cells created in bone marrow to repair damage to the lining of blood vessels (endothelium), leading to complications such as atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") and the eye disease diabetic retinopathy.
The scientists studied vascular repair cells in blood samples taken from volunteers with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. These cells could not move normally. However, they became more flexible and mobile when the researchers added nitric oxide, a gas that occurs naturally in the body. Many diabetic individuals have low levels of nitric oxide, which promotes the functioning and repair of blood vessels.
"The benefit of this is that when cells have improved movement they are able to repair the endothelium better and perhaps prevent atherosclerosis," researcher Dr. Mark S. Segal reported.
"The importance of this is related to other work that has shown that many drugs being used on the market today actually affect nitric oxide levels within these cells. So someday there may be two ways to help people whose cells may not function as well as they should. One is through certain medications - there may be a way we could actually give medications that would affect the nitric oxide levels within these cells and enhance their migratory ability. The other is through certain instances where we might actually collect these cells, treat them with nitric oxide outside the body and give them back to patients, to help improve the cells' migration ability," Segal concluded.
Source : Healthcentersonline
