From the Archives: IMPART Doctor’s Research Could Lead to New Obesity, Diabetes Therapies

Dr. Thomas Pulinilkunnil was part of a team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that published research in 2014 detailing the connection between increased levels of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) in fat cells and increased susceptibility to diabetes and obesity. By employing metabolic manipulation techniques to inhibit the NNMT gene, the team believes doctors can speed cellular energy production and help high-risk patients lose weight.

The conclusions in the group’s paper, published in Nature, are based on a biochemical mechanism called the ‘futile cycle’ in which cellular interactions are sped up. Manipulation of this cycle in obese patients could reduce the presence of obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes, in North America.

Read the full press release from Science Daily at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140409134312.htm