New strategy against blood glucose drops in type 1 diabetes
Inhibiting the hormone somatostatin may be a new treatment strategy to prevent dangerous blood glucose drops in type 1 diabetes. This has been shown by a study conducted at, among others, the University of Gothenburg. The proposed strategy is said to have the potential to save lives. In healthy individuals, a drop in blood glucose leads to the release of glucagon, a hormone that helps the liver produce glucose, which normalizes blood glucose levels. Glucagon has the opposite effect in the body to insulin, which lowers blood glucose. Both hormones are produced in the pancreas. People with type 1 diabetes have a lack of insulin but also glucagon. When glucagon is not released during a drop in blood glucose, it leads to dangerously low blood sugar levels, a condition that causes around 10% of all deaths in type 1 diabetes.…
