Reptilian drug may help treat diabetes.The synthetic version of a compound in lizard venom seems to complement insulin and help people with diabetes steady their sugar metabolism, a new study finds. The drug, called exendin-4, is a protein fragment that researchers originally isolated from Gila monster gila monster (hē`lə), venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, found in the deserts of the SW United States and NW Mexico. It averages 18 in. venom. Exendin-4 functions like a substance called glucagon-like protein-1, or GLP-1, which people secrete in their intestines. After a meal, the body releases GLP-1 to signal satiety satiety being in a state of satiation; in experimental animals used with reference to eating and drinking. satiety center located in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. and stimulate insulin-secreting beta cells beta cells, n See cells, beta. in the pancreas. Physician John Dupre of the University of Western Ontario Western is one of Canada's leading universities, ranked #1 in the Globe and Mail University Report Card 2005 for overall quality of education.[2] It ranked #3 among medical-doctoral level universities according to Maclean's Magazine 2005 University Rankings. in London, Ont., reported on eight type I diabetes Type I diabetes Also called juvenile diabetes. Type I diabetes typically begins early in life. Affected individuals have a primary insulin deficiency and must take insulin injections. Mentioned in: Diabetic Ketoacidosis patients getting an injection of exendin-4 or a placebo with their insulin shot at breakfast. All had better control of sugar concentrations in their blood during the morning when they got exendin-4. It's unclear how the drug achieves this effect, since type I diabetes patients have no functional beta cells. Instead of stimulating such cells, exendin-4 may regulate blood sugar by slowing the rate at which the stomach empties food into the intestines, Dupre speculates. |
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