Unlike type 1 diabetes, which is genetic in origin, type 2 diabetes is above all linked to lifestyle. It also accounts for 90% of diabetes cases, affecting 422 million people worldwide according to the World Health Organization.
Against type 2 diabetes, dietary measures (reducing sugar consumption) and exercise are the first-line treatments. And it works… if it is put in place as soon as the diagnosis is made! Indeed, a clinical study conducted by researchers at the University of Newcastle and published in Cell Metabolism demonstrated that losing a lot of weight from the moment of diagnosis can restore insulin production and therefore return to a “non-diabetic” state.
” Our data suggest that a substantial weight loss at the time of diagnosis can “save” pancreatic beta cells (note: responsible for insulin production) says the lead author of the study, Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University. In short, it is a question of reversing the process normally at work in type 2 diabetics.
Reprogram pancreatic cells…
To reach these conclusions, Professor Roy Taylor and his teams followed and analyzed the data of 90 type 2 diabetic patients, from the cohort “ United-Kingdom-based Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT). The 90 participants, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within 6 years of the start of the study, were separated into 2 groups: 64 in a so-called intervention group in which they followed an intensive diet to lose weight and 26 in a control group where they simply followed a conventional care protocol.
One year later, 46% of the individuals in the intervention group had responded well to weight loss, that is to say that they had regained and maintained normal blood glucose levels: these are the ” respondents”. For the remaining 54%, either they had not lost enough weight, or this effect could not be observed in them: these are the “non-respondents”.
The question therefore is to know why weight loss was enough to restore normal functioning of pancreatic cells in some patients and not in others.
To find out, the researchers therefore analyzed all the data concerning it: hepatic fat level, pancreatic fat level, blood level of triglycerides (fats) and functioning of beta-type pancreatic cells (those that produce insulin).
As a result, the only difference observed between the responders and the non-responders resided in the functioning of the beta cells and in particular the presence of the “first phase” of insulin secretion.
In fact, insulin is released into the blood in 2 stages: the first phase, called early, consists of a massive release of insulin for a short period (10 minutes). And this peak secretion is not observed in non-responders. Why ? For the moment, scientists do not have the answer.
… So that they secrete insulin correctly
In short, rapid weight loss can restore normal levels of liver fat, pancreatic fat, blood triglycerides (fats) but only a restoration of beta cells can return to a non-diabetic state. Losing weight is therefore an effective measure to “re-program” the pancreatic cells to produce insulin normally and therefore
Nevertheless, two nuances of size in this study: 98% of the participants were of Caucasian type and they were followed only one year after the weight loss. A larger study is needed to confirm these results.
” Knowing that type 2 diabetes is reversible thanks to the re-differentiation of pancreatic cells will allow us to better target our work in order to improve our understanding of this process. explains Professor Taylor.
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