With diabetes now reaching epidemic proportions, unearthing an innovative way to tackle the condition is pressing. A new study investigates whether vitamin D might provide a new route to treatment.
Vitamin D and blood

Currently, there are around 30 million people in the United States living with type 2 diabetes, a lifelong condition that cannot yet be cured.

Obesity, one of the major risk factors, is steadily rising, meaning that the number of people with type 2 diabetes is likely to follow suit.

The condition is caused by faulty beta cells in the pancreas. These cells manufacture and release insulin, the hormone essential for controlling glucose levels in the blood.

If beta cells produce too little insulin, or none at all, glucose can accumulate in the blood at levels that are toxic to cells and tissues.

A recent study, now published in the journal Cell, looked into a novel way of protecting beta cells, thereby slowing the onset of diabetes. The researchers, from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, concentrated on a well-known compound: vitamin D.

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