Glucose molecules 'seal' diabetes memory

COVENTRY, England, June 28 (UPI) -- British medical scientists have discovered how the body's metabolism is "locked" into a diabetic state after only limited high glucose exposure.

University of Warwick Medical School researchers said they were aware there seems to be a point of no return in the onset of diabetes and scientists have speculated exposure to high glucose levels quickly creates a metabolic memory in which diabetes persists long after the glucose levels are corrected.

The Warwick team, led by Dr. Antonio Ceriello, has proven the damage occurs during a process called glycation, when high glucose molecules bind with proteins in the mitochondria of cells -- the parts of cells governing the production and regulation of energy. The damage persists, even if glucose levels later fall to normal.

The researchers said their finding confirms the need for very early tight control of glucose levels to avoid diabetic complication.

Papers concerning the study appear in the current issue of the journal Diabetologia and are soon to be published in the journal Diabetes Care.