About a million people in the United States have type 1 diabetes, which means their bodies don’t produce insulin, so they can’t properly metabolize sugar. There’s no way to prevent it, and there is no cure. Patients can only manage the condition with regular insulin injections. But researchers are constantly looking for new ways to treat and manage diabetes. This week on Health Watch, we’ll talk about diabetes research, treatment and management.

One way doctors study diabetes is with animal models — mice that have a similar condition. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a genetically modified strain of mice whose pancreatic beta cells — which produce insulin — can regenerate. Dr. Philipp Scherer, a UT Southwestern diabetes researcher, says this will help in researching diabetes because doctors can study what causes the beta cells to regenerate.

Next: Some really groundbreaking diabetes research.

Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/endocrinology to learn more about
UT Southwestern’s clinical services in endocrinology.