Insulin
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Insulin is a hormone that has extensive effects on metabolism and other body functions, such as vascular compliance. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stopping use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by body cells, and the body begins to use fat as an energy source, for example, by transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source. As its level is a central metabolic control mechanism, its status is also used as a control signal to other body systems (such as amino acid uptake by body cells). It has several other anabolic effects throughout the body. When control of insulin levels fails, diabetes mellitus results.
Insulin is used medically to treat some forms of diabetes mellitus. Patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus depend on external insulin (most commonly injected subcutaneously) for their survival because the hormone is no longer produced internally. Patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus are insulin resistant, and because of such resistance, may suffer from a relative insulin deficiency. Some patients with Type 2 diabetes may eventually require insulin when other medications fail to control blood glucose levels adequately.
Insulin is a peptide hormone composed of 51 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. It is produced in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. The name comes from the Latin insula for "island".
Insulin's structure varies slightly between species of animal. Insulin from animal sources differs somewhat in 'strength' (in carbohydrate metabolism control effects) in humans because of those variations. Porcine (pig) insulin is especially close to the human version.
For more information about Insulin, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with insulin
Brown fat cells make 'spare tires' shrink
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Bonn have found a new signalling pathway which stimulates the production and function of so-called brown fat cells. They propose using these cells that serve as a "natural ...
High urea levels in chronic kidney failure might be toxic after all
Dec 02, 2009 |
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It is thought that the elevated levels of urea (the byproduct of protein breakdown that is excreted in the urine) in patients with end-stage kidney failure are not particularly toxic.
Cardiovascular risk in youth with type 1 diabetes linked primarily to insulin resistance
Dec 01, 2009 |
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According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), youth with type 1 diabetes have now been found to have abnormal insulin resistance. Having abnor ...
Systems biology approach provides insulin resistance insights
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Researchers from the University of California, San Diego recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from ...
Molecule discovered that makes obese people develop diabetes
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Many people who are overweight or obese develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes at some stage in their lives. A European research team has now discovered that obese people have large amounts of the ...
Scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin—a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes—and core body temperature. While ...
Study shows how substance in grapes may squeeze out diabetes
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A naturally produced molecule called resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes, has been shown to lower insulin levels in mice when injected directly into the brain, even when the animals ate a high-fat ...
Scientists create fruit fly model to help unravel genetics of human diabetes
Nov 02, 2009 |
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As rates of obesity, diabetes, and related disorders have reached epidemic proportions in the US in recent years, scientists are working from many angles to pinpoint the causes and contributing factors involved ...
Insulin boost restores muscle growth in elderly
Sep 25, 2009 |
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When most people think of insulin, they think of diabetes — a disease that arises when, for one reason or another, insulin can't do the critical job of helping the body process sugar. But the hormone has another, less well-known ...
Nanodiamonds deliver insulin for wound healing
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Jul 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Bacterial infection is a major health threat to patients with severe burns and other kinds of serious wounds such as traumatic bone fractures. Recent studies have identified an important new weapon for fighting ...
Researchers discover mechanism of insulin production that can lead to better treatment for diabetes
Nov 12, 2009 |
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How a specific gene within the pancreas affects secretion of insulin has been discovered by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Japanese and American universities. Their ...
Study finds best use of insulin as diabetes progresses
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A large-scale trial in diabetes patients has provided new evidence on how best to add insulin to standard drugs to control blood sugar levels as type 2 diabetes progresses.
Protein critical for insulin secretion may be contributor to diabetes
Oct 26, 2009 |
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A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes.
Noninsulin-producing alpha cells in the pancreas can be converted to insulin-producing beta cells
Aug 06, 2009 |
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In findings that add to the prospects of regenerating insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers in Europe -- co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation -- have shown that insulin-producing ...
New Test May Predict Heart Disease Events and the Effect of Weight Loss on Insulin Resistance
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical fingerprints produced by the body's normal metabolic processes predict who will suffer cardiovascular events and who will benefit from weight loss by reduction of insulin resistance, according two ...
