Insulin's powerful--but delayed--effect.

• Position: Type 1 Diabetes

In type 1 diabetics, insulin injections exert a strong anti-inflammatory effect at the cellular and molecular level, while even small amounts of glucose result In "profound inflammation," according to researchers at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.).

Insulin essentially suppresses the Important pro-inflammatory protein called HMG-B1, which facilitates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines (messenger proteins) that induce even further inflammation when secreted and released by the injured cell.

The work builds on previous research by the investigators in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which showed that insulin had the same anti-inflammatory effect in obese and type 2 diabetes patients, but highlights some important differences.

Insulin's anti-inflammatory effect takes longer to occur In type 1 diabetics--about six hours--as opposed to two hours in type 2 diabetics and obese patients. It also took about six hours for inflammatory markers known as reactive oxygen species to appear in type 1 diabetics after glucose infusion, whereas it took approximately one to two hours In obese patients and type 2 diabetics.

"The reason for this delayed response to insulin and glucose In type 1 diabetes patients is not clear and requires further investigation," says Paresh Dandona, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrinology...