Possible oral treatment for diabetics

HAIFA, Israel, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A substance derived from yeast is being tested in Israel as a potential oral treatment for diabetes and its complications.

The substance -- glucose tolerance factor, or GTF -- offers promise of inhibiting oxidation processes that can result in strokes and heart attacks. GTF given at early stage of diabetes may prevent or delay renal complications as well as cataracts and retinal damage.

"The research is now at the stage where the substance has been successfully tested on diabetic rats and was found to reduce sugar and lipids in the blood of the treated animals," research leader Nitsa Mirsky of the University of Haifa said in a statement. "The next stage of the research is to evaluate GTF efficacy in humans."

Mirsky's research is being conducted on diabetic rats and on the molecular-cell level. The results indicate that GTF acts similarly to insulin in the rats. It lowers the level of low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol -- and raises the level of high-density lipoproteins, or the "good" cholesterol.

GTF seems to improve the effectiveness of injected insulin. Mirsky said further research is needed in order to find a combined regimen of insulin and GTF as a potential treatment for diabetes.