Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD of Columbia University Medical Center discovered in 2007 that they may be a link between a person’s skeletal system and normal blood sugar levels.
What he discovered is that when the normal process of the skeleton destroying old bones (similar to how the body replaces skin) and new bone growth appears. The process of “normal resorption - is necessary to maintain a healthy level of glucose in the blood.” This process releases a hormone that can help regulate blood sugar levels in the human body.
Dr. Karsenty discovered that if the hormone (osteocalcin) is not released because of an impaired function in the skeletal system a person has a higher risk of becoming diabetic or diabetics may have a harder time managing their diabetes.
Improving the normal function of the skeletal system with medications may improve the hormone release of osteocalcin, which will in return may improve the blood sugar levels in a diabetic. In addition, it could also improve how the diabetic medication works in the body and it could even lessen the amount of insulin a diabetic needs to keep their diabetes under control.
1Department of Genetics & Development, and 4Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; 2Department of Experimental Medicine, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy; 3Department of Medicine and Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; 5These authors contributed equally and were placed in alphabetical order.
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