April 14, 2009
Schalinske finds cause of diabetics’ disrupted metabolism of essential functional groups
Study finds vitamin B may aid in diabetics' health complications
Kevin Schalinske, associate professor in food science and human nutrition, studied type 2 diabetics’ disrupted metabolism of methyl groups in order to determine its cause. |
By
Steve Adams
Diabetes cases – and the numerous health risks that accompany them – are rapidly rising throughout the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the nearly 25 million Americans afflicted, 90 percent have type 2 diabetes – the form linked to obesity. Over 57 million more Americans who are undiagnosed are at a high risk of developing the type 2 form of the disorder.
The scientific community is responding to the many complications that result from the disease, however, and Kevin Schalinske, associate professor in food science and human nutrition, is among those leading the charge.
In his most recent study – funded by the American Diabetes Association – Schalinske found that one specific enzyme is largely responsible for disrupting diabetics’ metabolism of methyl groups, one of the groups of atoms in organic molecules that determine how they function.
“In a diabetic state, the expression of this one enzyme is increased, and because one of the functions of this enzyme is to dispose of excess methyl groups, this may lead to a lack of methyl groups for other necessary reactions,” Schalinske said. “The supply of methyl groups is there – kind of like pouring water into a bucket – but because this enzyme is activated, this bucket has a hole in it. The methyl groups are being diverted away from where they’re needed. We’ve known about this deficiency from a dietary standpoint, but in the case of diabetics, we’re seeing that it’s not really a dietary deficiency but a functional deficiency.”
Schalinske said that over 100 essential chemical reactions rely on methyl groups to make compounds active or inactive or to turn genes on or off. In diabetics, however, some of these essential reactions may be compromised.
“You’ve got this essential pathway involving vitamins and nutrients and methyl groups, and you know that in a diabetic state this pathway is disrupted, for whatever reason, and may play a role in the development of complications associated with diabetes,” Schalinske said. “So we wanted to know what things can disrupt this. You know the cause if you just don’t have B-vitamins and methyl groups in the diet, but [in diabetics] the supply is usually there.”
While he acknowledged that stopping the development of diabetes is a big challenge, Schalinske sees great potential for improving the lives of some diabetics.
“If you fill up the water bucket with the hole at a slow rate, you’re still losing ground,” Schalinske said. “But certainly if you turn up the faucet, you can overcome that loss. So we do speculate that providing a supplement including all of the B vitamins might essentially prevent that loss. There is most likely a significant [proportion] of the diabetic population [for whom] just taking this supplement will offer a benefit by minimizing some of the resulting complications.”
