Pill creates beneficial effects of gastric bypass surgery in Type 2 diabetes
One of the benefits of gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity is that in many patients, it improves or cures their Type 2 diabetes regardless of weight loss. Now researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women's Hospital have created a material, contained in a pill, that mimics the glucose-lowering effects of surgery. The material, dubbed Luminal Coating of the Intestine (LuCI), temporarily coats the intestine, lowering the amount of glucose released into the bloodstream during digestion. In rats, it prevented the blood-sugar spikes that patients with diabetes frequently experience after meals. The research appeared in the journal Nature Materials. (Article)
Gene testing to ID prostate cancer patients who could benefit from immunotherapy
Lipid molecules may contribute to Parkinson’s development
Mutations in a gene called PLA2GA6 can cause early-onset Parkinson’s disease, though the mechanism by which the disease develops is still not well understood. A team at Baylor College of medicine knocked out the equivalent of PLA2GA6 in fruit flies and were surprised to discover that the insects had increased levels of ceramides, which are lipids that contribute to the structure and function of cell membranes. When levels of ceramides are too high, they discovered, cell membranes stiffen, leading to neurodegeneration. They confirmed their findings in neurons from vertebrates. Their observations were published in the journal Cell Metabolism. (Release)