Could taking leptin plus insulin help type 1 diabetics better control blood glucose

Mon, 11 Oct 2010
A resarch study, to be carried out by the University of Texas, will look at whether leptin, in conjunction with insulin, can provide additional help with stabilising blood sugar levels in people with type 1 diabetes .

Type 1 diabetics can find it difficult to stabilise their blood glucose, and can find it a daily battle to keep blood sugar from going too low as well as too high.

Leptin, a hormone which plays a part in suppressing appetite, has been shown to work better than insulin for controlling blood sugar levels in mice. However, the proposed study will test leptin in addition to insulin on type 1 diabetes in humans.

The trial will look for 12 to 15 participants with a body mass index under 25 (find out your body mass index using our BMI calculator www.diabetes.co.uk/bmi.html ). Theory suggests that leptin is more sensitive for lower body weights .

Dr Unger, Professor of medicine at the University of Texas, states, "In rodents, it eliminated the wide swings in glucose that occur with insulin alone and lowered indices of cholesterol formation." and adds that "If it works in humans as well as it does in rodents, it will be a major step forward."

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