| Topic: | Diabetes (DM) |
| Title: | Breeding Fitness in the New Millennium: From Genetic Switches to Pills in a Bottle. |
| Author: | Braunstein, J.B. |
| Source: | Diabetes Forecast. 54(4): 27-29. April 2001. |
| Availability: | Available from American Diabetes Association. 1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311. (800) 232-3472. Website: www.diabetes.org. |
| Abstract: | This article reports on the latest technologies that may one day eliminate the need for physical activity to manage diabetes. Researchers have discovered that genetically engineered mice lacking a gene that produces an enzyme called protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B) gained only half as much weight as mice with the PTP-1B gene when fed the same high fat diet. The mutant mice also maintained normal blood sugar levels after a high calorie meal while the mice with the gene had high blood sugars characteristic of type 2 diabetes. This discovery raises the prospect of future obesity and diabetes therapies that control the PTP-1B gene. Muscle building vaccines based on engineered genes have also been the subject of various experiments. Vaccines were found to increase muscle mass in the legs of mice by 15 to 27 percent without any leg exercise at all. Although genetic engineering will lead to impressive and life saving therapies, moral and ethical dilemmas will arise with the commercialization of these technologies. |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English. |
| Major Keywords: | Diabetes Mellitus. Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes. Exercise. Obesity. Genetics. Vaccines. |
| Minor Keywords: | Enzymes. Muscles. Research. |
| Publication Number: | DMJA09540 |
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