Inflammatory skin disorders, such as psoriasis, can directly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented at the Annual Conference of the Endocrinology Society held in Glasgow, Scotland.Study findings indicate that improving skin health could be of great importance for blood sugar control and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Approximately 2-3 percent of the world population suffers from psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disorder in which the immune system attacks skin cells, which produces excessive growth of younger skin cells and causes ulcersReds that bite.Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for psoriasis, since patients have to use treatments to relieve symptoms throughout their lives.
Previous studies have shown that having psoriasis increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, the specific biological mechanisms that link the two disorders are unknown, and if defined, they could lead to new therapies to treat patients who suffer problems fromthe skin and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
In this study, Elizabeth Evans and her King’s College colleagues in London, the United Kingdom, used human and animal skin models to look for changes caused by psoriasis that can influence the development of diabetes.Psoriasis mice showed indicative changes of insulin resistance, a key characteristic of diabetes development where insulin fails to stimulate glucose collection in cells.
The changes included a decrease in glucose absorption capacity in the fatty tissue under the skin and an increase in insulin production of insulin producing cells, indicating that the body is trying to compensate for the lack of capture ofglucose.
Similar alterations were observed in fat and in the islet cells outside the body when exposed to the cultivation fluid used to support the samples of inflamed skin, which suggests that inflamed skin releases chemical signals that cause the changes.
Elizabeth Evans explains: "The laboratory model we use in this study is very similar to many of the main characteristics of psoriasis and we have observed some changes caused by the condition that reflect what is observed in a pre-diabetic patient."Next, Elizabeth and her colleagues plan to determine which skin derived factors are released during psoriasis and the impact they have on the development of diabetes.
And continue: “If we can identify the new skin derived factors that directly affect blood sugar control, they can lead us to possible therapeutic objectives for the treatment of diabetes or insulin resistance.In addition, discovering if the skin derived factors that alter the control of blood sugar are lower when treatment for psoriasis is properly followed would be very interesting, since it can reduce the risk of a patient developing type 2 diabetes"