Mechanism that could provide potential cure for diabetes identified

People develop diabetes because they don''t have enough pancreatic beta cells to produce the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar levels.. But now, researchers from UCLA''s Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center have discovered the underlying mechanism that could convert other cells in the body into the insulin-making cells, which could provide a potential cure for diabetes.

While the current standard of treatment for diabetes — insulintherapy — helps patients maintain sugar levels, it isn''t perfect, and many patients remain at high risk of developing a variety of medical complications.

Replenishing lost beta cells could serve as a more permanent solution, both for those who have lost such cells due to an immune assault (Type 1 diabetes) and those who acquire diabetes later in life due to insulin resistance (Type 2).

"Our work shows that beta cells and related endocrine cells can easily be converted into each other," said study co-author Anil Bhushan, an associate professor of medicine in the endocrinology division at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The researchers showed that chemical tags called "methyl groups" that bind to DNA — where they act like a volume knob, turning up or down the activity of certain genes — are crucial to understanding how cells can be converted into insulin-secreting beta cells.

They showed that DNA methylation keeps ARX, a gene that triggers the formation of glucagon-secreting alpha cells in the embryonic pancreas, silent in beta cells.

Deletion of Dnmt1, the enzyme responsible for DNA methylation, from insulin-producing beta cells converts them into alpha cells.

The findings suggested that a defect in beta cells'' DNA methylation process interferes with their ability to maintain their "identity." So if this "epigenetic mechanism," as the researchers call it, can produce alpha cells, there may be an analogous mechanism that can produce beta cells that would maintain blood sugar equilibrium.

"We show that the basis for this conversion depends not on genetic sequences but on modifications to the DNA that dictates how the DNA is wrapped within the cell," said Bhushan.

"We think this is crucial to understanding how to convert a variety of cell types, including stem cells, into functional beta cells," he added.

The study was published in the April issue of the journal Developmental Cell.

to produce the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar levels.

Muscle cramps- symptoms, causes,prevention

What is Cramps
A muscle cramp is an involuntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax. When they use the muscles that can be controlled voluntarily, such as those of our legs and arms, they alternately contract and relax as they move our limbs. A muscle that involuntarily contracts is in a "spasm." If the spasm is forceful and sustained, it becomes a cramp. It lasts for few seconds.
Causes
Some medicines like diurities may cause cramps.
Several vitamin deficiency may directly or indirectly lead to muscle cramps.
These include deficiencies of thiamine (B1), pantothenic acid (B5), and pyridoxine (B6).
Poor circulation to the legs, which ends in inadequate oxygen to the muscle tissue, may cause extreme pain in the muscle that occurs with jogging or exercise.

Symptoms of cramps
A cramp is painful, often severely so. Usually, the sufferer must cease whatever activity is under way and seek relief from the cramp; the person is unable to make use of the affected muscle while it is cramping. Extreme cramps may be associated with soreness and swelling, which can occasionally persist up to several days after the cramp has subsided. At the time of cramping, the knotted muscle will bulge, feel firm, and may be tender.
How can muscle cramps be prevented?
Most cramps can be stopped if the muscle can be stretched.
For lots of cramps of the feet and legs, this stretching can often be accomplished by standing up and jogging around.
 For a calf muscle cramp, the person can stand about four to four.5 feet from a wall  and lean in to the wall to place the forearms against the wall with the knees and back straight and the heels in contact with the floor.
Gently massaging the muscle will often help it to relax, as will applying warmth from a heating pad or hot soak.
Cramps are inevitable, but if feasible, it would be best to prevent them.

Activity: Authorities recommend stretching before and after exercise or sports, along with an adequate warm-up and cooldown, to prevent cramps that are caused by vigorous physical activity. Nice hydration before, in the coursework of, and after the activity is important, if the period exceeds hour.

Rest cramps: Night cramps and other rest cramps can often be prevented by regular stretching exercises, if completed before going to bed. Even the simple calf-stretching maneuver (described in the first paragraph of the section on treatment), if held for ten to 15 seconds and repeated or times before going to bed, can be a great help in stopping nocturnal cramps.