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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
In diabetes, tiny clusters of insulin-producing "beta cells" in the pancreas don't produce enough of the hormone to keep people healthy, and their blood glucose levels climb. Perhaps unsurprisingly, their beta cells then function very differently than the cells do in people with normal blood glucose levels.
What's surprising is that the changes in beta-cell behavior begin to occur when the blood glucose levels are barely elevated, still within the pre-diabetes range. "These slightly high concentrations of glucose are enough to really confuse the cell," says Gordon Weir, MD, senior investigator and senior staff physician at Joslin Diabetes Center.
What's surprising is that the changes in beta-cell behavior begin to occur when the blood glucose levels are barely elevated, still within the pre-diabetes range. "These slightly high concentrations of glucose are enough to really confuse the cell," says Gordon Weir, MD, senior investigator and senior staff physician at Joslin Diabetes Center.
Small rises in blood glucose trigger big changes in insulin-producing cells
This study provides a wealth of new data showing how beta cells behave at slightly raised levels of blood glucose -- still within the pre-diabetes range. The work provides major additional evidence of a 'glucose toxicity' effect that helps to drive the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
www.sciencedaily.com
