The international team of researchers discovered that in the blood content of folllyatin protein, it is possible to predict whether a person will develop a second type diabetes, 19 years before the start of the disease. A sign of scientists was published in the Nature Communications journal.
Specialists trained health more than 5.3 thousand patients in Sweden and Finland over four to 19 years. “We found that at high levels of Follystatin in the blood, you can predict the occurrence of disease for a period of up to 19 years, regardless of other risk factors, such as age, body mass index, blood glucose level, diet and physical activity,” said the lead author Works, Associate Professor Lund University Jan de Marinis.
Researchers found out that follystatin contributes to the splitting of fats in adipose tissue, which leads to the accumulation of lipids in the liver. This, in turn, increases the risk of developing non-alcoholic liver disease. Full-generated search for associations conducted among more than 5,000 Swedes, British and Italians showed that the levels of follistatan are controlled in the body with regulatory protein glucocinase (GKRP). Currently, researchers work on the development of a diagnostic device, which in the content of Follystatin will allow to predict the risk of developing diabetes in humans.