Breakthrough on insulin sensitivity and cholesterol announced

Scientists in the United States have made a breakthrough in our understanding of insulin sensitivity by discovering that the removal of cholesterol by an enzyme called CEH can reduce inflammation and slow the development of type 2 diabetes .
It is hoped that the study, carried out at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, will make possible new target therapies that help predict susceptibility to the metabolic condition, and perhaps prevent diabetes in the future.
The research involved a transgenic mouse model for assessing the part CEH plays in regulating the removal of cholesterol from cells and making it available to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), sometimes known as “good cholesterol”. It was shown that increasing the process helped to enhance the removal of cholesterol from the body.
They found that CEH transgenic mice had lower inflammation of the fat tissue, and that when the CEH transgene is expressed, the mice showed improved insulin sensitivity, despite equal weight gain in the mice.
Shobha Ghosh, who led the study, commented “Although diabetes and heart disease often co-exist, current management of diabetes does not necessarily include cholesterol and/or inflammation control.”
She added “These studies provide the first evidence that targeting fat tissue inflammation as well as elimination of cholesterol from the body may be emerging new strategies to prevent diabetes .”