08-JUL-2008
Liver Protein Linked to Diabetes in Older Adults
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a higher than normal level of a protein produced in the liver and secreted into the blood stream, appears to raise the risk of developing diabetes in older persons, results of a study released Tuesday suggest. Previous studies have found an association between higher levels of the protein fetuin-A and insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes), but the association with subsequent development of diabetes is unknown. To investigate, Dr. Joachim H. Ix, from the University of California at San Diego, and colleagues compared initial fetuin-A levels in 135 older adults who developed diabetes during 6 years follow-up with those seen in 383 adults who did not develop diabetes. After adjusting for body weight, fasting blood sugar levels, and a variety of other factors that might influence the results, the researchers observed a graded increase in the incidence of diabetes with increased fetuin-A levels. Adults with the highest levels of this protein were more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as those with the lowest levels, they report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Future studies," the team concludes, "should evaluate whether the results may generalize to middle-aged individuals in whom the [diabetes] incidence rate is highest. If confirmed in future studies, fetuin-A may ultimately prove useful as a target for therapeutics, and its study may provide novel insights to glucose (sugar) metabolism in humans." SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, July 9, 2008. Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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