![]() "In addition, we test our theories in animal models of diabetes and obesity, with goals of trying to figure out how to best treat and rejuvenate defective beta cells."ĭr. We have the opportunity to work with a variety of human pancreatic specimens at Mayo Clinic, which is a huge resource for us," says Dr. For example, would proper sleep, a healthy diet, regular exercise and losing weight activate the genes that produce insulin and keep beta cells healthy? In contrast, does a sedentary lifestyle, lack of sleep or a diet rich in fat and sugar lead to malfunctioning beta cells? His lab probes how genetic and environmental factors play a role in this process. Matveyenko's research examines how to kick-start faulty pancreatic beta cells. Regenerative medicine focuses on repairing or restoring diseased cells, tissues and organs. These beta cells don't make enough insulin to control blood sugar or the insulin they do produce isn't functioning properly. ![]() Prolonged elevation of blood sugar could damage many organs in the body, including the heart, blood vessels and kidneys. Type 2 diabetes, which most often affects people over 40, develops when pancreatic beta cells cannot secrete enough insulin to lower blood sugar. Type 2 is the most prevalent form of diabetes, accounting for approximately 95% of all diabetes cases. Despite improvements, insulin replacement therapy does not always sufficiently control blood glucose, leaving diabetics at risk of conditions such as neuropathy, blindness or infections that could lead to limb amputation. Millions more people are classified as prediabetic, which could lead to a tsunami of diabetes cases in the future.įor more than a century, insulin has been a standard treatment for Type 1 diabetes and some forms of Type 2 diabetes. Approximately 34 million people, or 1 in 10 Americans, have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. We each look at diabetes through a different lens to address problems in unique ways."ĭiabetes is a growing health problem in the U.S., with a 40% increase in cases over the past decade, according to the American Diabetes Association. Bringing each of these capabilities together allows us to do more than we could do in our individual laboratories. "Each lab has a different focus that complements one another. "As a team, we are trying to understand how pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin either die or become deficient, and how to reverse that process," says Dr.
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