Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Causes, Symptoms & Treatment: Decreasing Pancreas Fat May Reverse Condition

Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes, is a chronic, lifelong condition that affects the body's ability to create and use insulin, the hormone in the blood that takes in glucose to use it for energy, WebMD reports. There are three types of diabetes mellitus, type 1 type 2, and gestational diabetes. The CDC reports that about 29.1 million people or 9.3% of the American population have diabetes, and 27.8% of these people are undiagnosed. Symptoms of this deadly disease include frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision changes, tingling or numbness in one's hands or feet, very dry skin, the feeling of exhaustion most of the time, and slow-healing sores.

Obesity is linked to a higher risk of diabetes, which is why the CDC encourages regular physical activity. Treatment involves different types of medication, most commonly insulin injections, as per the American Diabetes Association.

A new study coming from British researchers analyzed 18 people who have type 2 diabetes for less than 15 years via a novel type of MRI that measures fat loss from the pancreas and liver, according to HealthDay. They also studied 9 people with similar weights and ages but did not have type 2 diabetes. Two months later, the participants lost 13% of their weight, but those who had type 2 diabetes lost weight from the pancreas and liver. Researchers found that insulin production returned to normal among the group with type 2 diabetes.

Professor Taylor of Newcastle University explained in a press release, "For people with Type 2 diabetes, losing weight allows them to drain excess fat out of the pancreas and allows function to return to normal."

"So if you ask how much weight you need to lose to make your diabetes go away, the answer is one gram! But that gram needs to be fat from the pancreas," he stressed. "At present the only way we have to achieve this is by calorie restriction by any means – whether by diet or an operation."

Professor Taylor stresses that by decreasing pancreas fat, one may reverse type 2 diabetes. He said, "This new research demonstrates that the change in level of fat in the pancreas is related to the presence of Type 2 diabetes in a patient. The decrease in pancreas fat is not simply related to the weight loss itself...It is specific to Type 2 diabetes."

Dr. Joel Zonszein of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center, New York City, commented, "In people who have fat where it doesn't belong—in the pancreas and in the liver—removing that fat improves diabetes. Even after seven years or more, the pancreas can recover very nicely."