Uncovering Disease-Driving Events that Lead to Type 2 Diabetes

January 4th, 2024byDr. Monica M. Bertagnolli

Nearly 35 million people in communities across the U.S. havetype 2 diabetes(T2D), putting them at increased risk for a wide range of serious health complications, including vision loss, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and premature death.While we know a lot about the lifestyle and genetic factors that influence diabetes risk and steps that can help prevent or control it, theres still a lot to learn about the precise early events in the body that drive this disease.

When you have T2D, the insulin-producing beta cells in your pancreas dont release insulin in the way that they should. As a result, blood sugar doesnt enter your cells, and its levels in the bloodstream go up. Whats less clear is exactly what happens to cause beta cells and the cell clusters where theyre found (called islets) to malfunction in the first place. However, Im encouraged by some new NIH-supported research inNaturethat used various large datasets to identify key signatures of islet dysfunction in people with T2D.