Experimental treatment could combat damaging side effects of diabetes

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

An experimental treatment could help combat the damaging side effects of diabetes without lowering the patient's blood sugar, scientists have found.

The compound, dubbed RAGE229, reduces damage to the heart and liver while helping diabetic wounds heal, according to a new study.

Around 4.9 million people are living with diabetes in the UK and a further 13.6 million are at risk of developing the lifelong condition.

People with diabetes do not produce enough insulin, a hormone which keeps blood sugar levels in check after meals supply the body with energy.

But they also suffer long term effects, including cuts or wounds that heal slowly and are at a higher risk of heart attacks and liver damage.

Now scientists at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine have discovered a compound which tackles the condition's short- and long-term effects by targeting a protein called RAGE.

“Our results establish the molecular backbone of RAGE229 as the foundation for a new approach that targets intracellular RAGE actions to counter diabetic tissue damage," said author professor Iven Young.

"With further refinements, RAGE229 and its descendants have great potential to fill gaps in treatment, including that most current drugs work only against type 2 diabetes.”

The researchers screened a library of 59,000 compounds and found RAGE229 was the most effective against diabetes.

RAGE229 was given to mice after the researchers had triggered an inflammation in their paws.

Rodents treated with compounds experienced significantly less inflammation than those who were left to fend for themselves.

They also tested RAGE229 on male mice with diabetes and a blocked artery, simulating a heart attack.

The amount of heart muscle downstream of the blockage which died was 28 per cent in mice who were given the compound compared to 38 per cent, the researchers found.

In another experiment, molecules of RAGE229 were added to the rodents' feed to see whether it reversed long-term complications like diabetic wounds.

Wounds in male mice with type 2 diabetes who were treated with the compound closed up 25 per cent more after three weeks, the researchers found.

Feeding RAGE229 to male and female mice with type 1 and 2 diabetes also reduced kidney damage.

"The RAGE229 used in our study will not be the version recommended should it move forward into human clinical trials," Young said.

"We continue to aggressively synthesise and test new compounds and chemical modifications RAGE229.

"These new molecules promise to yield a final drug candidate with optimal potency in the foreseeable future.”

The findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.