Therapeutic skin grafts for diabetes and obesity have been tested on wild type mice for the first time. A new study conducted by scientists from the University of Chicago in Illinois genetically engineered - and tested - therapeutic skin grafts aimed at managing diabetes and obesity. Scientists have started to test therapeutic skin grafts that aim to manage glucose levels and body weight in cases of diabetes and obesity. The main obstacle in the way of testing therapeutic engineered skin was finding enough wild type mice to perform the experiment on. The researchers - led by Dr. Xiaoyang Wu, from the University of Chicago Ben May Department for Cancer Research - tested the engineered skin grafts on wild type mice, whose diabetes and obesity were diet-induced.
Scientists treat diabetes and obesity with genetically altered skin grafts
The genetically altered skin grafts reduced blood glycogen levels in the treated mice, reducing the symptoms of diabetes. But these risks are minimal with skin grafts, Wu said. They embedded the gene in skin grafts and applied them to the bodies of lab mice with diabetes and obesity. The treated mice, who had been placed on high fat diets to induce obesity, also showed reduced appetites. Moreover, grafts can be easily monitored, since they sit on the skin, and can be removed with relative ease if needed.collected by :Lucy William