Researchers at Sydney Australia's Garvan Institute believe they have discovered a key cause of type 2 diabetes that will make developing a simpler and more effective treatment much easier.
The scientists identified an enzyme found in diabetics that is an active agent in blocking the production of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is used by the pancreas to convert blood sugar into energy. Currently diabetes treatments attempt to control insulin levels but do not address why insulin production has decreased or failed.
The team, led by Associate Professor Trevor Biden and Dr Carsten Schmitz-Peiffer, now expects to work with pharmaceuticals to develop a drug to block them enzyme known as PKCepsilon.
"What we've identified is a target that we can now latch onto to get therapy, but the journey from target to tablet of course is a long one," said Biden. "It's probably going to take another 10 years at least to get something that's effective in humans."
Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 200 million people worldwide and is commonly linked to obesity.
[Source: Fierce BioResearcher]
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