Swedish scientists have found that a variation of the FTO gene linked to an increased risk of obesity may also be associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Their study also found carrying both the risky FTO allele with another gene known to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease increases the risk of dementia by 50%. The findings were announced earlier today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Over nine years, researchers followed 1,003 elderly subjects who initially presented no signs of dementia. The found that those people carried two copies of the A variant of the FTO gene had a 58% increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and a 48% increased risk for developing dementia. The FTO A allele, which occurs at a frequency of about 45% in Central and Western Europeans and 52% in West Africans, has been previously shown to correlate with increased BMI and increased risk for obesity in both children and adults. The Swedish researchers found that those individuals who carried two copies of FTO A as well as the e4 allele of the gene APOE saw their risk factor for dementia double. It’s estimated that about 25% of people carry at least one copy of the APOE e4 allele.

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Cross posted from Nature’s The Great Beyond blog.

An artificial pancreas that can help control the havoc-wreaking diabetes causing hormones has been developed and successfully tested.

The system was developed at Boston University (BU), and consists of a blood glucose monitor and insulin pump hooked up to a laptop that runs a programme to control the levels of the important hormones insulin and glucagon. Administering insulin to a type 1 diabetes patient always carries a risk of hypoglycaemia with it. But by running an algorithm that monitors blood sugar levels and is capable of administering both blood-sugar raising and lowering hormones – glucagon and insulin respectively – this system seems to remove that risk.

Read the rest of the post on The Great Beyond.

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An artificial pancreas currently in development could ultimately help diabetes patients keep blood sugar levels normal, without lifting – or pricking – a finger. Though the device’s exact setup hasn’t been determined, plans include implanted glucose-monitoring sensors that would transmit information to an insulin pump, with dosing determined by algorithm.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) announced today a partnership with Animas Corporation to further the the artificial pancreas’ development. With JDRF contributing $8 million in support to a big-time company like Animas, the team expects to apply for regulatory approval within the next four years.

“A lot of people want relief – they don’t want to have to worry if they’ll go blind or if they’ll develop heart problems because of poor blood sugar management,” Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president for Glucose Control Research at JDRF, said at the press conference. “This is one of the biggest leaps forward we’ve had for this cause in years.”

The first generation of the artificial pancreas will still require routine blood sugar monitoring and insulin dosing by users, Kowalski says, but the system will kick in should glucose levels go to a dangerous extreme. Down the line, a fully automated, closed-loop system is the goal, which could eliminate the need for outside monitoring, as well as give a break to those who don’t like the sight of a pricked finger.

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