A recent study found a possible role for arsenic in drinking water in increasing the risk of disease Diabetes Of the second type in men.
The study was conducted on mice, and found that exposure of male laboratory mice to arsenic in drinking water increases their likelihood of developing diabetes, which did not happen to females.
The study was conducted by researchers from Cornell University in the United States of America, and was published at the end of last December in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives Environmental Health Perspectives, and a website wrote about it “Eurek Alert”(EurekAlert).
Continuous exposure to arsenic has been linked to type 2 diabetes, and arsenic exposure is usually caused by groundwater contamination.
New evidence suggests that males exposed to arsenic are more likely to develop diabetes than women are.
Arsenic and type 2 diabetes
High levels to zarnekh in Bangladesh Mexico, which exceeded the safe levels, led to a group of studies that showed a link between exposure to arsenic and type 2 diabetes. Although the number of participants in these studies is very limited, evidence has emerged that encourages further research.
In the current study, mice were exposed to arsenic for a month at doses that were not lethal, but capable of causing type 2 diabetes. The researchers next studied the liver and white adipose tissue involved in diabetes.
Male mice to which the human gene was transferred showed an increase in gene expression associated with insulin resistance. A nucleic acid called miRNA-34a also appeared in the liver and white adipose tissue, which is linked to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes and other diseases. Other metabolism.
Researcher Gina Todero indicated that MR34A could be used as an indicator to detect people at risk of diabetes in places where arsenic levels are high.
Professor Praveen Sethupathi, the lead researcher in this study and a professor of physiological genomics, pointed out that their research paper laid the foundation for future research, related to understanding the mechanism through which exposure to arsenic leads to diabetes.
Arsenic
According to the World Health Organization Arsenic is a natural component of the Earth’s crust, and is widely spread in the environment. It is highly toxic in its inorganic form. People are exposed to high levels of inorganic arsenic by drinking contaminated water, using contaminated water in food preparation, irrigation of food crops, industrial processes, eating contaminated food and smoking tobacco.
Tobacco smokers can be exposed to natural, inorganic arsenic found in tobacco; Because tobacco plants can absorb arsenic that is naturally present in the soil. Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic may lead to chronic arsenic poisoning.
Type 2 diabetes
It is noteworthy that diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs if the pancreas does not produce sufficient amounts of insulin, or the body cannot use the insulin produced in an effective manner.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Diabetes has several types; Including: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes prevents the proper use of insulin, which leads to high blood sugar. Over time, type 2 diabetes can destroy some organs of the body, especially nerves and blood vessels.
