Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that affects 422 million people worldwide as of 2014.
There are two main types of diabetes type 1 and type 2. all forms of diabetes occur
when the amount of glucose or sugar within the blood gets too high. Glucose is the main source
of energy within the body which comes from the carbohydrates we eat or drink. In a healthy person
the glucose from the food we eat is shuttled into our cells from the bloodstream with the help of
a hormone called insulin. This process is what gives us the energy needed to do anything from
sending a text to running a mile. When you have diabetes this process doesn't happen normally.
The insulin produced by the body is either ineffective against the high quantity of
glucose or no insulin is produced at all the high levels of glucose within the blood as a result of
inadequate levels of insulin is what leads to the symptoms of diabetes these symptoms include
weight loss frequent urination
extreme thirst weakness and can lead to further health complications
although diabetes is a severe condition it can be managed through many lifestyle factors
and treatments to help individuals better handle the symptoms there's also new research that points
to breakthroughs in the treatment of diabetes and obesity and it has to do with the body's fat
now you may be thinking how can fat be used to treat diabetes and obesity shouldn't it
make things worse well no there are actually two main types of fat tissues in our body brown fats
and white fat fat cells from these tissues look different and have different functions white fat
cells have a bright yellow color while brown fat cells appear brown who would have guessed
brown fat tissues are less common but can be found primarily in your neck and shoulder
they burn excess calories to provide energy for the body the other hand white fat cells
are responsible for storing energy and they make up most of the surface fats throughout our bodies
if we take a closer look inside these cells we can see that brown fat cells
typically have more mitochondria and less stored fats this is an important
difference because the mitochondria is responsible for generating chemical energy
from the foods we eat and driving various metabolic processes now that we have
learned about the different types of fat cells let's investigate how brown fats are involved
the human brain aka the body's boss interprets internal and external cues and sends signals
in the form of hormones or nervous signals to metabolic effectors throughout our body like brown
fat tissue once the signal stimulates a brown fat cell its mitochondria is activated the process is
similar to starting a car in this scenario much like the brain you decide when to start the engine
and signal the car to start by turning the key the vehicle represents the brown fat cell
and the cart engine represents the mitochondria which burns the fuel to drive the energy for our
unit one critical component in this process is uncoupling protein one
ucp1 sits in the membrane of the mitochondria and initiates a cascade of reactions leading to the
generation of heat and energy so what about white fat cells white fat cells aren't as significant
in burning energy and driving metabolism because they lack ucp1 in their mitochondrial membrane
meaning they are not as efficient in burning calories they also have less mitochondria per
unit making their contribution to burning energy negligible when compared to brown fat cells
so what is the significance of ucp1 recent experiments demonstrated that mice genetically
engineered to not express ucp1 tend to have a lower metabolic rate and are more likely to
gain weight and become obese when compared to normal mice that are fed a similar diet
this is significant because obesity is associated with a reduction in brown fat activity and so less
energy is being burnt considering that obesity is one of the main risk factors for diabetes
these findings suggest that brown fats could help create treatments for diabetes in the near future
with brown fat when the body's metabolism is increased cells need more fuel to function
so they take in more glucose and fats from the bloodstream and break them down for energy
this results in desirable outcomes which include a decrease in blood glucose cholesterol
and blood pressure which are especially favorable in treating diabetes and obesity
so where do we go from here scientists have been trying to translate this knowledge into developing
practical treatments for instance researchers have investigated the possibilities of stimulating the
browning process browning is a process in which white fat cells are converted into cells similar
to those found in brown fat tissues the key to this process is activating ucp1 expression
one potential approach involves gene editing through a commonly used technique called crispr
experts are currently working on animal models and applying crispr to induce the expression of
ucp1 in white fat tissue although there is a lack of current human experiments and ethical
concerns regarding gene editing in humans the results of the current trials have been favorable
suggesting the establishment of new treatments for diabetes and obesity in the foreseeable
future you