Monday, September 26, 2011
Anti-Aging
GABA may support body's natural defenses against diabetes 2, UCLA research suggests
September 23, 2011
UCLA researchers have demonstrated that the over-the-counter dietary supplement GABA may help inhibit development of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance - conditions involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which affect millions worldwide.
In this early preclinical study, a team of molecular pharmacologists at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine fed supplemental GABA - an amino acid-like molecule that the body produces naturally - to mice that were obese, insulin resistant and in the early stages of Type 2 diabetes.
According to their findings, published Sep 22 by the peer-reviewed journal, PLoS ONE, the supplemental GABA:
• Suppressed the inflammatory immune responses that are involved in the development of this condition.
• Improved glucose tolerance & insulin sensitivity and helped prevent disease progression - even after the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
The UCLA team also identified the regulatory immune cells that likely direct GABA’s activity in inhibiting inflammation.
They note that in the future, GABA taken as a supplement - or related medications - may provide new therapeutic agents for the treatment of obesity-related Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
No outside funding was used for the study.
Source: University of California, Los Angeles Health Sciences news release, Sep 22, 2011