Ume'å scientist honored for article on stress hormone and diabetesApril 08, 2002Eva Rask at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Ume'å University, Sweden, has been awarded a scholarship from the Swedish Association for Diabetology for the year's best scientific article in Swedish diabetes research in 2001. The article, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, describes how the stress hormone cortisol can be formed in fatty tissue in humans, and all the more so with increasing obesity. The study was carried out by a research team at Ume'å (besides Eva Rask comprising Stefan Söderberg, M.D., Ph. D., Associate Professor Owe Johnson, and Professor Tommy Olsson) together with a team in Edinburgh, Scotland, led by Professor Brian Walker. In collaboration with an American group, the Scottish team has recently published an experimental study in Science that firmly supports the findings of the Ume'å team. An increased amount of the enzyme that causes cortisol to be formed in fatty tissue produces a picture that is identical to that of the "metabolic syndrome," that is, a combination of obesity (especially torso obesity, owing above all to the ingestion of fatty foods), insulin resistance and diabetes, high levels of blood fats, and rising blood pressure. These data explain earlier puzzles in this field of research. It has long been suspected that increased exposure to cortisol can contribute to the metabolic syndrome in humans, since the so-called Cushing's syndromewith high levels of circulating cortisol owing to a tumor that produces cortisolis completely similar the metabolic syndrome. However, increased levels of cortisol have never been found in the blood. This paradox is thus explained by an increase in the local production of cortisol in the fatty tissue. Among other things, this cortisol influences the metabolism of fat cells by increasing the production of free fatty acids that can contribute to the development of diabetes and blood-fat disturbances. Cortisol can also enter the liver and affect insulin sensitivity and metabolism of sugar. The metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for the development of coronary diseases. By inhibiting the formation of cortisol in fatty tissue it is hoped that it will be possible to interrupt a number of "vicious circles" and reduce the risk of diabetes and coronary disease. This can be an important complement to measures to improve patients' life-styles, primarily exercise and loss of weight. The scholarship is for SEK 25,000 and was awarded at the spring meeting of the Association in Falun on March 21. Eva Rask defended her Ph. D. thesis on April 5. VetenskapsrÃ¥det (The Swedish Research Council) |
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