It made sound far-fetched, but did you know that severing specific nerves to the kidneys may improve the effectiveness of insulin, on the liver? Well according to research from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles recently published in the journal Diabetes that’s exactly what happens.
The relationship between diabetics and their liver can be a dysfunctional one. The liver in nondiabetics metabolizes and produces glucose (sugar) that the body uses fuel. However, the insulin secreted by the pancreas of diabetics in incapable of normalizing glucose production in the liver.
Until recently the mechanism that accounts for this failure has been a mystery. But now it looks like the diabetes Holy Grail has been discovered. Scientists have concluded that the liver and kidneys are communicating with each other to set glucose levels.
It may sound like science fiction, but researchers are now focusing their attention on determining an efficient method to surgically slice the nerves in the kidneys of humans.
Malini Iyer, Ph.D., the lead author of the study conducted at the Bergman Laboratory in the Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai explained: “To our surprise, we found that renal denervation—cutting nerves to the kidneys—dramatically improved the liver’s sensitivity to insulin.”
In the study, scientists snipped the nerves to the kidneys of heroic laboratory animals made insulin-resistant from being fed a steady high-fat diet. Surprise, surprise, following the procedure suddenly their livers developed a healthy response to insulin. In other words, the animals were cured of their insulin resistance. If you are wondering if the kidneys were negatively affected by the procedure, you’ll be happy to learn that the kidneys did not change following the cut nerves.
Researchers note that for the first time scientists have identified the role that the kidneys play in regulating blood sugar. The study has concluded that because the kidneys and the liver are signaling each other to set healthy blood sugar levels but notes that when those lines of communication are shut off, the liver overproduced glucose in the animals on a high-fat diet.
It may sound like science fiction, but researchers are now focusing their attention on determining an efficient method to surgically slice the nerves in the kidneys of humans.
