The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7418 p331
16 September 2006

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

Diabetes research examines promise of therapeutic target

A new therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes has been tested in mice and could provide a future treatment for people with the condition (Science 2006;313:1137).

Endoplasmic reticulum stress, researchers say, occurs in response to obesity and plays a central role in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. They discovered that treatment of obese and diabetic mice with experimental “chemical chaperones” — which improve endoplasmic reticulum folding capacity and stabilise protein conformation — resulted in restoration of blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity and fatty liver disease.