Using Mendelian randomization, Roman Pfister of the University of Cambridge, UK and colleagues demonstrate a potentially causal link between low levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a hormone released by damaged heart tissue, and the development of type 2 diabetes. The findings, published in this week's PLoS Medicine, suggest that BNP may be a potential target for interventions designed to prevent type 2 diabetes, particularly since the feasibility of altering BNP levels with drugs has already been proposed. The results have yet to be confirmed in patients of non-European descent.
Source: Public Library of Science