Cyanide ingredient could lead to new type 2 diabetes treatment

[DCUK NewsBot]

A new drug for type 2 diabetes could be developed using an ingredient from a cyanide antidote. A ‘lean gene’ was found to reverse the condition in mice and now scientists are looking to reproduce the findings in humans. A protein named TST was identified because it detoxifies harmful waste products accumulating inside fat cells from unhealthy eating. The breakthrough was made by researchers at Edinburgh University and could pave the way for a low-cost medicine to treat type 2 diabetes. Mice bred with high levels of TST did not become obese or develop type 2 diabetes despite being fed high-calorie foods. The overweight mice with type 2 diabetes were then given a TST-activating drug called Thiosulphate used to treat cyanide poisoning, with the results showing it led to better diabetes control among the animals. Professor Nik Morton, lead researcher on the study, said: "Gaining this unique insight into the genes of healthy leanness could lead to a completely new approach to treating diabetes associated with obesity. "It's a proof of concept. It's a starting point to develop drugs that target this protein. Thiosulphate is cheap but developing new drugs can be costly - and take up to 15 years. There is no quick fix." The research was published in Nature Medicine and was funded by the Wellcome Trust as well as Slovenian Research Agency.

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[dmilnes]

While this is undoubtedly an interesting item of news, I think the headline is misleading, and might deter some readers. However, I do hope that the research may lead to something positive.

The headline suggests that it is cyanide itself that 'contains' the crucial ingredient (chemically, a nonsensical statement), while everyone knows, courtesy of Agatha Christie, that cyanide kills people - is this not so?

In fact, it is an ingredient of a cyanide antidote that is the centre of attention here, a very different proposition, and far less likely to alarm people than a prominent and direct reference to an infamous and dangerous poison.

 

[Robbity]

Yes, my first reaction when I saw this headline was that such a treatment would surely be worse for me than my diabetes actually is... Inaccurate and misleading, unfortunately.

Robbity

 

[Jasperville]

The research is based on Sulphate biochemistry, something I looked into myself about 20 years ago for a different area of medicine (I'm a doctor). The paper suggests that lean mice make more TST in fat cells. TST is an enzyme we all have, otherwise known as Rhodanese, and levels can be boosted by Sodium Thiosulphate.

Sodium Thiosulphate is a powerful detox/antioxidant, pretty safe, so guess what............I've ordered some from Amazon (available as a pool/fishtank cleaner). I'm planning to take a couple of crystals a day and see what happens.