Risk Cause Found
by Kirsty on Jul.12, 2009, under Healthcare News
Scientists claim that they have uncovered a reason why obese people have a raised risk of health complications such as type 2 diabetes. The cause seems to be a specific protein – pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) – which is secreted by fat cells hence the reason people who are obese have higher levels of the protein in their blood. Scientists claim that this can be treated by blocking the protein.
It seems that the protein triggers tissue in the muscle and the liver to develop an insulin resistance, PEDF levels are also believed to release fats into the bloodstream, raising the risk of complications such as heart disease. Therefore tackling insulin resistance directly, even in the absence of weight loss, could potentially strengthen our ability to help obese patients reduce their risk of life-shortening disease
These findings mean that a drug can be developed which blocks blocks the protein. This is believed to reduce the number of obese people suffering from the life threatening conditions but this does not cure the obesity therefore wouldn’t it make more sense to deal with the obesity which would in turn reduce the health risks?
