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Diabetes drugs of the future
October 02, 2002COMMON blood-pressure drugs that help prevent the life-threatening complications of diabetes may do so by slowing the accelerated ageing from which diabetics suffer. The discovery could one day lead to drugs that delay some of the symptoms of ageing in everyone.
People with diabetes tend to age rapidly, particularly if they have type 1 diabetes, which strikes in childhood. Those with the condition often go blind, and they suffer from heart and kidney disease and high blood pressure far earlier than normal. Their skin can wrinkle in their 20s.
"The rule of thumb is that people look as old as their chronological age plus the duration of their diabetes," says team member Merlin Thomas of the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne.
That ageing occurs partly because high blood-sugar levels encourage the body to produce gluey sugar-protein complexes called advanced glycation end products. AGEs interfere with some cell functions and make tissues such as blood vessels stiffer. In healthy people, AGEs form far more slowly.
The Australian team, led by Mark Cooper of the Baker Institute, has found that a common blood-pressure drug called ramipril stops the build-up of AGEs in rats with diabetes. Those rats also had far less damage to their kidneys. "There was complete prevention," says team member Josephine Forbes. The results will appear in next month`s issue of the journal Diabetes.
Ramipril is a type of blood-pressure drug called an ACE inhibitor, and diabetic patients who take ACE inhibitors are known to suffer less kidney and heart disease than those taking other types of blood-pressure drugs. But until now the reason has not been clear.
The study "is more evidence that ACE inhibitors are a first choice to reduce blood pressure and protect organs in diabetes", says Juliana Chan, a diabetes expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "But they are not a panacea," she warns. "Diabetics still need to control their blood glucose, stop smoking and have other risk factors controlled."
ACE inhibitors reduce blood pressure by blocking the formation of angiotensin II, a protein that makes blood vessels constrict. Evidence is building that angiotensin II also increases oxidative stress, creating free radicals that in turn stimulate production of AGEs.
The Cooper team is now measuring AGEs in the blood of people with diabetes who take ACE inhibitors to find out whether their AGElevels are lower. If they are, it would be good news for people with the disease. Many need to take blood-pressure drugs anyway, and some ACE inhibitors are no longer covered by patents, which should make them a cheaper option than the designer AGE-busters currently under development.
The team is also testing different types of AGEs to see which ones cause the problems. The next step will be to find inhibitors that target these AGEs.
And it`s not just people with diabetes who may reap the benefits of drugs designed to cut AGE levels. Many experts believe the build-up of AGEs helps cause kidney disease and glaucoma as well as the narrowing of the blood vessels in cardiovascular disease and the formation of brain plaques in Alzheimer`s. AGEs also accumulate in the skin, helping make it wrinkly.
ACE inhibitors are unlikely to become an elixir of youth because they cause unpleasant side effects such as coughing and irregular heartbeat. But future drugs designed to block AGEs might have fewer side effects.
Rachel Nowak, Melbourne
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
That ageing occurs partly because high blood-sugar levels encourage the body to produce gluey sugar-protein complexes called advanced glycation end products. AGEs interfere with some cell functions and make tissues such as blood vessels stiffer. In healthy people, AGEs form far more slowly.
The Australian team, led by Mark Cooper of the Baker Institute, has found that a common blood-pressure drug called ramipril stops the build-up of AGEs in rats with diabetes. Those rats also had far less damage to their kidneys. "There was complete prevention," says team member Josephine Forbes. The results will appear in next month`s issue of the journal Diabetes.
Ramipril is a type of blood-pressure drug called an ACE inhibitor, and diabetic patients who take ACE inhibitors are known to suffer less kidney and heart disease than those taking other types of blood-pressure drugs. But until now the reason has not been clear.
The study "is more evidence that ACE inhibitors are a first choice to reduce blood pressure and protect organs in diabetes", says Juliana Chan, a diabetes expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "But they are not a panacea," she warns. "Diabetics still need to control their blood glucose, stop smoking and have other risk factors controlled."
ACE inhibitors reduce blood pressure by blocking the formation of angiotensin II, a protein that makes blood vessels constrict. Evidence is building that angiotensin II also increases oxidative stress, creating free radicals that in turn stimulate production of AGEs.
The Cooper team is now measuring AGEs in the blood of people with diabetes who take ACE inhibitors to find out whether their AGElevels are lower. If they are, it would be good news for people with the disease. Many need to take blood-pressure drugs anyway, and some ACE inhibitors are no longer covered by patents, which should make them a cheaper option than the designer AGE-busters currently under development.
The team is also testing different types of AGEs to see which ones cause the problems. The next step will be to find inhibitors that target these AGEs.
And it`s not just people with diabetes who may reap the benefits of drugs designed to cut AGE levels. Many experts believe the build-up of AGEs helps cause kidney disease and glaucoma as well as the narrowing of the blood vessels in cardiovascular disease and the formation of brain plaques in Alzheimer`s. AGEs also accumulate in the skin, helping make it wrinkly.
ACE inhibitors are unlikely to become an elixir of youth because they cause unpleasant side effects such as coughing and irregular heartbeat. But future drugs designed to block AGEs might have fewer side effects.
Rachel Nowak, Melbourne
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
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As a result of successful events organised last year, a second Joint Scientific Forum, organised by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), two of the most respected professional medical organisations in Europe, will be held from 27-29 November at three venues across China - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
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An atomic-level look at an HIV accomplice
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Scripps research scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature
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.
Scientists find molecular trigger that helps prevent aging and disease
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction-and the reverse, overconsumption-produce protective effects against aging and disease?
Pivotal study for PSD502 -- the first potential treatment for premature ejaculation
At the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), Inc. in San Diego, Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi Company and Plethora Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC ("Plethora" - AIM:PLE)., today presented data from its second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).
Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health
A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
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