There are three main kinds of diabetes, all characterized by a condition called hyperglycemia. What are the main differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes? …
May - 2007
There is a strong correlation between the prevalence of obesity in the
population and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes By studying knockout mice
and people, Dr Kahn and her colleagues have determined that fat cells
secrete a molecule that circulates in the blood and increases insulin
resistance They have also identified that molecule: it is the protein
called retinal binding protein 4 RBP4 whose only known job is to
transport vitamin A to cells
1 Obesity has a technical definition What is it? Generally, having too
much body fat In normal adults, a Body Mass Index BMI of 30 or above
is obese
2 Name four health risks that can be linked to being obese Some of the
most serious are: high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, gallbladder disease, respiratory problems and sleep apnea,
osteoarthritis and some cancers
3 There are three main kinds of diabetes, all characterized by a condition
called hyperglycemia What is hyperglycemia? Hyperglycemia is
characterized by high blood sugar levels
4 What are the main differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Type
1diabetes is characterized
by the bodys inability to produce insulin
Type 2 diabetes may also be characterized by reduced insulin production,
but the main factor is the bodys inability to use its insulin in a
normal way
5 Where in the human body is the pancreas, and why is it important when
discussing diabetes? The pancreas sits just below the stomach Within the
pancreas are the bodies the produce insulin, which is needed to control
blood sugar
6 This months author says that glucose may be the most important molecule
in the body Whether you agree or disagree, what is her reason for
including that statement? Glucose provides energy to the bodys cells
Without it, the cells would not be able to survive
7 GLUT4 is a glucose transporter protein What does that mean? What does
GLUT4 do? Glucose molecules bind to it and it moves the glucose around
the body GLUT4 allows glucose to pass into cells through the lipid
membrane that surrounds them: without the GLUT4, the glucose could not
get in
8 Insulin directs some cells to take up glucose from the bloodstream What
cells? It also orders an organ to stop producing more glucose Which
organ? It tells fat cells and muscle cells
to take up the glucose It
also directs the liver to cease glucose production
9 In patients with type 2 diabetes, where are the GLUT4 levels decreased?
They are decreased in the fat cells
10 Dr Kahn and her team used fat-specific GLUT4 knockout mice for one
stage of their research? Why? By studying the muscle cells of these mice,
they were able to determine that fat cells themselves were producing
something that increased insulin resistance
11 What was the surprising consequence? In effect, what protein came out
of left field as a key to insulin resistance? Insulin resistance in mice
eventually came to be correlated with an increase in the protein RBP4, a
transport protein for retinal
12 Moving from mice to people - what are some of the strategies for
managing diabetes In addition to insulin, programs of diet and exercise
are important Getting more exercise and reducing sugar and carbohydrate
intake have been shown to lower weight and reduce RBP4 levels
13 What is likely to come from the link between insulin resistance and
RBP4? It provides a new avenue of investigation for pharmaceutical
scientists seeking ways to treat diabetes For example, a
drug that
lowered RBP4 might be able to treat the disease
Charting the correlation between a populations obesity and its diabetes
incidence over time may interest students with a statistical bent Even
more, looking at sub-populations can lead to further investigation of
lifestyle, genetic pre-dispositions, education and the distribution of
healthcare services Students can take advantage statistical and mapping
software to get a strong feel for the numbers behind what many people
consider a looming public health crisis And they can get a better sense of
the importance of, and difference between, anecdotal information and
statistical information
While this months story focuses on obesity and diabetes, students should
understand that not all obese persons are diabetic and not all people with
diabetes are obese The website wwwDiabetesorg and the Joslin Diabetes
Center - wwwJoslinorg - provide enormous amounts of data about diabetes,
including the connection to obesity, as well as life-style suggestions for
helping to prevent and manage diabetes
Nobel Prizes and Insulin - insulin has been associated with at least 4
Nobel prizes Students with an
interest in the history of science and
medicine can investigate why the discoveries were considered so important
and how the Nobel committees work The first award, the 1923 award, came
only one year after insulin was first injected into a 14-year-old boy dying
from the effects of diabetes, saving his life It also occasioned an early
example of sharing, as the two researchers who received the awards shared
them with collaborators who had not been recognized Students might also be
interested in how the production of injectible insulin has changed over the
last 85 years: dogs, pigs, and oxen all play a part
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Teacher Guidance
GET UP AND MOVE - Research by the Dr Barbara Kahn and her team at the Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School
Source:qub.ac.uk
