Dolphin diabetes on off switch could lead to type 2 cure

Fri, 19 Feb 2010
According to diabetes experts in the United States, an on/off switch in the brains of dolphins could one day be translated into a diabetes cure for humans. The bottlenose dolphin uses a device to turn on and off a diabetic-like state depending on how much energy they require.

A now-dormant genetic mechanism to maintain blood sugar levels may once have been a part of the human makeup. During leaner periods, enough energy-providing sugar would have been stored to meet the demands of the brain. At this stage, the researchers need to further assess how the switch works and apply it to the control of type 2 diabetes .

The director of clinical research at the National Marine Mammal Association in San Diego, California, Dr. Venn-Watson reportedly commented: "If dolphins have a genetic fasting switch that can turn diabetes on and off, identifying and controlling such a switch in humans could lead to a cure for Type-2 diabetes . Maybe there is something dormant in us that can be awakened and used to provide therapy or a cure."

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