Research suggests popular diabetes drugs can cause abnormal pancreatic growth in humans

Individuals who had taken a type of drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes showed abnormalities in the pancreas, including cell proliferation, that may be associated with an increased risk of neuroendocrine tumors, according to a new study by researchers from UCLA and the University of Florida. Their findings were published online March 22 in the journal Diabetes.   The researchers, from the Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA and the Diabetes Center at the University of Florida, found that cell mass was increased approximately 40 percent in the pancreases of deceased organ donors who had Type 2 diabetes and who had been treated with incretin therapy. This widely used type of treatment takes advantage of the action of a gut hormone known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) to lower blood sugar in the body.   Although there have been conflicting reports on the effects of the incretin class of drugs on the pancreas in animal studies, this is the first study to note such changes in the human pancreas. The research was made possible by a unique research consortium called nPOD (Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes), led by Dr. Mark Atkinson, a professor of pathology and pediatrics at the University of Florida. The network, which is funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, obtains pancreases from deceased organ donors, with permission of their next of kin, to better understand diabetes by investigating tissues of those wi...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news