An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and UZ Brussel, has made a major breakthrough in the study of how our bodies maintain healthy blood sugar levels. In a new study, they show that young beta cells, the tiny factories in the pancreas that produce insulin, need an enormous amount of iron to become mature and functional. Without this essential mineral, the cells die prematurely, which can eventually contribute to the development of diabetes. The results were recently published in Nature Communications and represent a new stage in research into the treatment of diabetes.
The beta cells in our pancreas act as highly sensitive sensors that constantly measure the amount of sugar in our blood. As soon…