Pancreatic regeneration triggered by fasting diet, study shows

A study published in Cell, has shown that the pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through fasting and could potential prove a viable treatment for diabetes.

The research conducted experiments on mice feeding them a low calorie, low protein, low carbohydrate but high unsaturated-fat diet over a small period of time before a regular diet is resumed, mimicking a feast and famine style of eating.

The results showed the diet regenerated beta cells in the pancreas, which are responsible for detecting sugar in the blood and prompting the release of insulin when necessary.

Dr Valter Longo, from the University of Southern California, said: "Our conclusion is that by pushing the mice into an extreme state and then bringing them back - by starving them and then feeding them again - the cells in the pancreas are triggered to use some kind of developmental reprogramming that rebuilds the part of the organ that's no longer functioning."

"Medically, these findings have the potential to be very important because we've shown - at least in mouse models - that you can use diet to reverse the symptoms of diabetes.

"Scientifically, the findings are perhaps even more important because we've shown that you can use diet to reprogram cells without having to make any genetic alterations."

Dr Emily Burns, research communications manager at Diabetes UK, said: "This is potentially very exciting news, but we need to see if the results hold true in humans before we'll know more about what it means for people with diabetes.

"People with type-1 and type-2 diabetes would benefit immensely from treatments that can repair or regenerate insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."