Diabetes can be an insidious disease. Why is it something that affects one person and not another? Why can one person be quite overweight and not end up with diabetes, while another individual is slightly overweight but ends up with severe diabetes?
There have been numerous studies and a tremendous amount of research to determine the factors involved in diabetes, what the best treatments are, what the best methods of control are and how and where to get the most accurate information.
There are more organizations that are providing information and services for individuals with diabetes today than in the past. One of the areas that have been researched extensively is the isolation of specific causes of diabetes.
There have been some past studies that show the excess of certain proteins to be linked to development of diabetes. These studies are important because they have provided the basis and the building blocks for further research. Recent research has shown that the protein fetuin-A – especially in elderly persons – is linked to the development of diabetes. Fetuin-A works by overcrowding insulin and preventing it from making glucose available to muscle cells. In addition, researchers feel it is a link in answering the question as to why some people develop diabetes and others don’t. The reason that fetuin-A is considered a link is due to the fact that it operates regardless of a person’s weight and other factors. This means that this could be the answer as to why someone who is quite overweight might not develop diabetes, and someone who is slightly overweight or not overweight at all might develop the disease.
Studies showed that in research during a six year period, high levels of fetuin-A in individuals over seventy years of age increased the development of diabetes by over 70%. Though the study did not determine specific antidotes to the problem, researchers are working on it. The study was groundbreaking, in that it was the first to be conducted over a long period of time.
Researchers are still looking for ways to inhibit and limit fetuin-A, thus trying to diminish the onset and effects of diabetes. Other factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diet and more are still contributors, however, fetuin-A seems to make all of these accelerate diabetes and its problems. Hopefully researchers will soon find a way to inhibit fetuin-A and slow the other factors, helping to eliminate some of the risks of diabetes in everyone.
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