By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Korean researchers have found that cancer-fighting drug Gleevec reduces the stress on fat cells known to cause type-2 diabetes.
A team led by Dr. Lee Myung-shik of the Samsung Medical Center discovered that after injecting Gleevec into mice, the drug reduces pressure on the endoplasmic reticulum, an organelle, which when threatened by excessive fat can lead to a disorder in the functioning of insulin, which controls blood sugar levels.
``The conventional treatment for diabetes has been geared toward controlling insulin, and hence, blood sugar levels, keeping the disease from reaching incurable stages, although no cure has been found.
``But since Gleevec diminishes the prevalence of diabetes, the finding is expected to lead to the development of new drugs,'' Lee said.
Lee's report was published in the medical journal Diabetes.
Some four million people in Korea suffer from diabetes, and the number is expected to exceed 10 million in 30 years, barring the emergence of any new form of treatment, according to Dr. Sohn Ho-young of St. Mary's Hospital, in Kangnam.