Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can directly cause insulin resistance, which commonly leads to diabetes, according to a recent study. Although HCV infection has been linked to type-two diabetes, but a definite cause-and-effect relationship has not been established yet.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo studied the development of diabetes using mice that had been bred to carry the core gene of HCV. The result showed that excessive insulin levels were apparent in the mice 'as early as 1 month old'. Insulin resistance was observed by the age of 2 months. Administering of glucose to these mice led to only mild glucose intolerance, but when they were fed a high-fat diet they developed overt diabetes.
The results indicated a direct involvement of HCV per se in the pathogenesis of diabetes in patients with HCV infection and provided a molecular basis for insulin resistance in such a condition. Though a link has been drawn between hepatitis C infection and diabetes, further research is needed in the field before anything substantial can be established.
Gastroenterology ,
March 2004
March 2004