"A breakthrough in helping the body to produce more insulin could make tedious injections of the hormone history. In type  diabetes httptopics.time.comdiabetes the body gradually loses its ability to make enough insulin to keep up with the sugar coming in from the diet. Eventually the overwhelmed system leaves these sugars in the form of glucose to build up in the blood which can lead to obesity damage the heart and cause other metabolic problems. And while insulin injections are an effective way to break down the glucose keeping track of blood sugar levels with regular finger pricks and repeated insulin shots arent an ideal way to treat a chronic disease. But despite decades of research scientists havent found a better way to address the problem. MORE Half of Diabetes Cases Are Undiagnosed httphealthland.time.comhalfofdiabetescasesareundiagnosed Now researchers working with mice at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute report in the journal Cell that they have discovered a hormone betatrophin that can prompt the body to generate more insulinproducing beta cells and if the work is confirmed the hormone could potentially do away with the need for regular insulin shots. We dont understand the cause of type  diabetes but everyone agrees that having more beta cells is better says Douglas Melton http senior author of the paper and codirector of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. No one doubts thats not a good idea. MORE Should You Take Statins Study Says Heart Benefits Outweigh Diabetes Risk httphealthland.time.comshouldyoutakestatinsstudysaysheartbenefitsoutweighdiabetesrisk Its an exciting breakthrough in diabetes research which for many years was focused on finding ways to externally supplement the bodys waning insulin levels. Thats because experts believed that once the pancreatic islet cells the bodys insulinmaking factories were compromised they couldnt be made to work again. Whats more they also surmised that only a specialized set of beta cells were equipped to make insulin and that once diabetes set in too few of these cells remained to pump out the critical hormone. Melton however whose work focuses on understanding how stem cells might enhance beta cell production admits that he is obsessed with the insulinmaking cells and reported in  that all beta cells appeared to have the ability to produce insulin. His pursuit of a better understanding of this population and the forces that cause them to falter in diabetes led his team to the discovery of betatrophin. MORE Stem Cell Research The Quest Resumes http In animal studies mice that were treated with another compound that compromised their ability to respond to insulin suddenly revved up production of more beta cells to compensate and Meltons team was able to isolate the hormone responsible  betatrophin. Over the course of a few weeks mice bred to develop diabetes but injected with betatrophin were increased their beta cell population by  times. I was impressed by the fact that the number of beta cells in the mice doubled in one week with one injection says Melton. Thats a huge difference. Whats more it appears the cells are relatively longlasting which could indicate they are robust enough to bring glucose levels in diabetics under control. In theory if the same results occur in people its possible that those on the verge of developing diabetes might never progress to develop the disease since the high blood sugar levels that can cause damage to tissues and lead the body to become less responsive to insulin could be avoided. Its also possible that diabetics could lower their dependence on insulin and might even be able to wean themselves off of the injection altogether if their beta cell production is robust enough to provide the insulin they need. MORE Type  Diabetes Is Tougher to Treat in Kids and Teens httphealthland.time.comtypediabetesistoughertotreatinkidsandteens Even if it doesnt address insulin resistance what betatrophin will do is lower blood sugar and anything that lowers blood sugar can make you healthier he says. More work will be needed to confirm what benefit betatrophin might have on diabetic patients before that might be possible however. John Anderson president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association says Its very promising and opens up new avenues of research but we are a long way from replacing insulin or a cure or even knowing how this hormone will work in human tissue. Those concerns arent lost on Melton who also recognizes that more research is needed to confirm that betatrophin may benefit patients. I am aware of the fact that given our level of ignorance everything seems simple and straightforward he says. But I am prepared to have it become more complicated."