Latest Beta cell Stories

Three-dimensional clusters of pancreatic beta-cells that live much longer and secrete more insulin than single cells grown in the laboratory are valuable new tools for studying pancreatic diseases such as diabetes and for testing novel therapies. This cutting-edge advance is described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C, Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The article is available free online at the Tissue Engineering website. "Finding a solution for the...

NEW YORK, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Islet Sciences, Inc., (OTC.BB: ISLT) a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in the field of transplantation therapy for patients with diabetes, announced today that its subsidiary DiaKine Therapeutics Inc. received European patent protection. The drugs are small molecules that can be used to treat diabetes, atherosclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. The European...

A number of studies have shown that excess insulin circulating in the bloodstream is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, a new study from Joslin Diabetes Center finds that this condition, called hyperinsulinemia, is itself not a cause of atherosclerosis. In humans, insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar levels, coexists with hyperinsulinemia. Both are associated with atherosclerosis, the buildup of...

Study provides important clue in type 1 diabetes; could help scientists identify and validate potential drug targets to alleviate ER stress and preserve beta cell mass in T1D In type 1 diabetes (T1D), pancreatic beta cells die from a misguided autoimmune attack, but how and why that happens is still unclear. Now, JDRF-funded scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine have found that a specific type of cellular stress takes place in pancreatic beta cells before the onset of...

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a cell-signaling pathway that plays a key role in increasing insulin secretion during pregnancy and, when blocked, leads to the development of gestational diabetes. Their findings are available online today in Diabetes, one of the journals of the American Diabetes Association. During pregnancy, pancreatic beta cells should expand and produce more insulin to adapt to the needs of the growing baby, explained...

Columbia researchers have conducted a study that suggests cells inside intestines could be employed to make insulin for patients with type I diabetes. Previously, researchers considered stem cell transplants to be the only way to replace lost cells inpatients with type I diabetes. Such a discovery could also mean that these patients would be free from daily insulin injections as well. Researchers have been conducting their work on mice and published their results in the journal Nature...

SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Metabolic Solutions Development Company, LLC (MSDC) is developing novel insulin sensitizers that exert their pharmacological effects through an as yet undisclosed mitochondrial molecular target. This breakthrough understanding has significant implications for the discovery of new drugs to treat type 2 diabetes and will be previewed during the Phacilitate meeting Metabolic Leaders Forum 2012 in San Francisco, March 12 - 14, 2012. MSDC...

Study suggests a new approach could give patients the ability to make their own insulin-producing cells without a stem cell transplant A study by Columbia researchers suggests that cells in the patient's intestine could be coaxed into making insulin, circumventing the need for a stem cell transplant. Until now, stem cell transplants have been seen by many researchers as the ideal way to replace cells lost in type I diabetes and to free patients from insulin injections. The...

Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute have developed a revolutionary technique to provide critical oxygen for maintaining the survival of insulin-producing cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully deliver oxygen locally to beta cells using a biomaterial. The results of the study, which represents a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells, were just published in the prestigious journal Proceedings...

MIAMI, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute have developed a revolutionary technique to provide critical oxygen for maintaining the survival of insulin-producing cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully deliver oxygen locally to beta cells using a biomaterial. The results of the study, which represents a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells,...