Hopes of a new treatment for diabetes have been boosted by new research from a group of experts.

Scientists at universities in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York, USA, came together to look at the use of osteocalcin and how insulin can be inhibited by its production.

The study looked at the mechanisms for the release of leptin in the body and found that by indirectly inactivating osteocalcin, the fat-derived hormone curbed the increased levels of insulin that can lead to diabetes.

Set to be published in the December 29th print edition of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), having been previewed on the publication's website, the research was conducted on a number of laboratory mice.

"The work boosts researchers' hopes of using osteocalcin to treat diabetes - a possibility some drug companies have already started to investigate," a statement accompanying the research concludes.

Other early release studies on the JCB website include a look at how DNA replication can slow down when individual molecules are undergoing repair.

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