A newly-developed drug is expected to cure the type 1 diabetes

"Efficacy of a single injection can maintain at least four months." An US research team has developed a new drug to control blood sugar and gained success in animal experiments. The researchers say their study involves a hormone which naturally exists in the human brain, and it is expected to provide assistance for the treatment of diabetes in the future. Related papers were published online at the website of journal Nature.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common disease worldwide, and its incidence is increasing year by year. Its characterization is that the blood sugar would pathologically elevate. If left unchecked and uncontrolled, it can easily lead to serious complications and even be life-threatening.

Previous research had found that injecting a hormone which involved in many biological processes - fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) into the peripheral blood system of mice can produce a strong anti-diabetic effect. But to achieve this, a large amount of drug is needed and the injection times should be more often.

In the new study, Mike Schwartz and his team at University of Washington changed an throught, trying to directly inject the hormone into the brain of mice and rat with type 2 diabetes. It was found that only one injection of FGF1 can make blood glucose levels in these animals maintain normal for at least four months.

The researchers say that this treatment works on obese mice caused diet and genetical factor. In addition, for genetically-induced obese rats, the therapy also proved to be effective. This long-lasting anti-diabetic effect did not influnced by food intake or body weight, indicating that the improvement of blood sugar levels has nothing to do with weight loss. The study fully demonstrated that brain can play a strong role in systemic glucose signaling.

Schwartz said that although the therapy is currently effective only on mild diabetic rodents, the finding has the potential to be converted to clinical drug for diabetes because it involves a hormone which naturally exists in humnan brain. However, because the specific mechanism of the therapy is not yet clear, they also need further research to answer this question and determine whether FGF1 have side effects.

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