Related topics: type 2 diabetes , diabetes , type 1 diabetes , insulin resistance , beta cells
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
A single mechanism for hypertension, insulin resistance and immune suppression
Jun 30, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (33) |
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Many of the 75 million Americans with essential hypertension also develop diabetes and other complications in addition to their high blood pressure, and researchers have discovered a common molecular mechanism ...
Scientists discover leptin can also aid type 1 diabetics
Aug 25, 2008 |
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Terminally ill rodents with type 1 diabetes have been restored to full health with a single injection of a substance other than insulin by scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Regular sprints boost metabolism
Jan 28, 2009 |
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A regular high-intensity, three-minute workout has a significant effect on the body’s ability to process sugars. Research published in the open access journal BMC Endocrine Disorders shows that a brief but intense exerci ...
Fructose metabolism by the brain increases food intake and obesity
Mar 25, 2009 |
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The journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), published by Elsevier, will publish an important review this week online, by M. Daniel Lane and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, building on the suggested link b ...
Completely novel action of insulin unveiled
Biology /
Nov 05, 2008 |
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A PhD student at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research has uncovered an important piece in the puzzle of how insulin works, a problem that has plagued researchers for more than 50 years. This finding brings us one ...
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 ...
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 ...
Young type-2 diabetic men suffer low testosterone levels, study shows
Aug 27, 2008 |
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Young men with type 2 diabetes have significantly low levels of testosterone, endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo have found -- a condition that could have a critical effect on their quality of life and on their ...
Apelin hormone injections powerfully lower blood sugar
Biology /
Nov 04, 2008 |
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By injecting a hormone produced by fat and other tissues into mice, researchers report in the November Cell Metabolism that they significantly lowered blood sugar levels in normal and obese mice. The findings suggest that t ...
Study finds citrus-derived flavonoid prevents obesity
Jul 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A flavonoid derived from citrus fruit has shown tremendous promise for preventing weight gain and other signs of metabolic syndrome which can lead to Type 2 Diabetes and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. ...
Nanodiamonds deliver insulin for wound healing
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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 ...
New clues to pancreatic cells' destruction in diabetes
Biology /
Feb 03, 2009 |
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Researchers have found what appears to be a major culprit behind the loss of insulin-producing β cells from the pancreases of people with diabetes, a critical event in the progression of the disease.
DNA-based gel produces proteins without live cells
Apr 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new method developed by Cornell biological engineers offers an efficient way to make proteins for use in medicine or industry without the use of live cells. The proteins made in this way ...
Killing 'angry' immune cells in fat could fight diabetes
Biology /
Oct 07, 2008 |
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By killing off "angry" immune cells that take up residence in obese fat and muscle tissue, researchers have shown that they can rapidly reverse insulin resistance in obese mice. The findings reported in the October Cell Me ...
Could antioxidants make us more, not less, prone to diabetes? Study says yes
Oct 06, 2009 |
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We've all heard about the damage that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - aka free radicals - can do to our bodies and the sales pitches for antioxidant vitamins, skin creams or "superfoods" that can stop them. In fact, there ...
