New research points toward better and longer lasting diabetes treatments

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen has deepened our understanding of the brain's role in diabetes. 

The latest findings, which were published in Nature Communications, build on research by Professor Michael Schwartz from the University of Washington. Several years ago, he discovered that injecting a single dose of the protein FGF1 targets the brain and cures diabetes in mice.

Associate Professor Tune H. Pers from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research teamed up with the Schwartz Lab to better understand how FGF1 affects the brains of mice.

They were able to find that particular neurons within the hypothalamus are changed in a sustained way and that this change is critical to induce long lasting diabetes remission. The research could pave the way for new diabetes treatments that are more effective and long lasting. It also challenges the prevailing wisdom and about the cause, and potential cure, for diabetes.

Read the full article in Nature Communications here: Transcriptomic analysis links diverse hypothalamic cell types to fibroblast growth factor 1-induced sustained diabetes remission