Diabetes test – years early

A new test could enable doctors identify patients who are going to develop type 2 diabetes, Swedish researchers have reported.

Researchers at Lund University say their new test involves a protein which is a "strong risk marker" for the development of the disease.

Their research found that 37% of patients who had high levels of the protein, SFRP4, went on to develop type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and age.

This meant those with high levels were five times as likely as others to develop diabetes.

The findings have been reported in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Researcher Anders Rosengren said: "If we can point to an increased risk of diabetes in a middle-aged individual of normal weight using a simple blood test, up to ten years before the disease develops, this could provide strong motivation to them to improve their lifestyle to reduce the risk.

"In the long term, our findings could also lead to new methods of treating type 2 diabetes by developing ways of blocking the protein SFRP4 in the insulin-producing beta cells and reducing inflammation, thereby protecting the cells."

Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 4 Reduces Insulin Secretion and is Overexpressed in Type 2 Diabetes. Cell Metabolism November 7 2012