UCLA RESEARCH ALERT
FINDINGS:
UCLA researchers have demonstrated that an over-the-counter dietary supplement may help inhibit insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, conditions that are involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which affect millions worldwide.
In this early preclinical study, a naturally produced amino acid–like molecule called GABA was given orally to mice that were obese, insulin resistant and in the early stages of Type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that GABA suppressed the inflammatory immune responses involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes.
According to study authors, GABA helped prevent disease progression and improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, even after onset of Type 2 diabetes in mice. They also identified the regulatory immune cells that likely direct GABA's activity in inhibiting inflammation.
IMPACT:
The researchers note that in the future, GABA, taken as a supplement, or related medications may serve as new therapeutic agents for the treatment of obesity-related Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
AUTHORS:
Dr. Jide Tian and Dr. Daniel Kaufman, both professors in the department of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, are available for interviews.
FUNDING:
No outside funding was used for the study.
JOURNAL:
The research appears in the Sept. 22 online edition of the peer-reviewed journal PLoS One. A copy of the full study is available.
