A new research has discovered that fats were a 'new weapon' to fight against type 2 diabetes and play an important role to treat it. As Diabetes is the most common lifestyle disease seen now-a-days, researches have been working hard in developing new treatment and preventive techniques.

Alan Saghatelian, Ph.D at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies with Barbara Kahn, M.D. conducted the research and found a new class of potentially therapeutic lipids, called fatty-acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs), found in people with insulin resistance. The FAHFAS are injected in diabetic mice to observe the result. It was found that the diabetic mice improved their glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, and opened an avenue for the development of novel medications for the disease.

At Beth Israel Medical Deaconess Center, the research done by Kahn's team found that they could create obese mice that were usually they could create obese mice that were unusually sensitive to insulin and suspected that the lipids found in them were behind it. The research done on these fats could lead to diabetes therapy.

Using the mass spectrometry technique, researchers identified a total of 16 different types of FAHFAs in the mice.

The researchers also measured FAHFA levels in the blood samples from human subjects, and found lower levels of these compounds in those with insulin resistance. Saghatelian said that they would be able to come up with better therapies to treat the disease with fewer side effects and that would be effective to a large number of people.

AW: Lizitha