Lipid in humans can help control blood sugar

Sao Paulo: A team of global researchers has discovered that a lipid — produced in response to cold by brown adipose tissue in the human body — helps reduce blood sugar.
The discovery with the lipid known as 12-HEPE can pave the way for new treatments for diabetes, said the team from Brazil, the US, and Germany.
The group also observed that a drug used to treat urinary dysfunction increases the amount of 12-HEPE released into the bloodstream in human patients.
White adipose tissue, one of the two types of adipose tissue in mammals, including humans, stores excess energy as fat.
The other kind is brown adipose tissue, which converts energy from food into heat and contributes to thermal regulation.
The function of the lipid “12-HEPE” was unknown until the group discovered that blood sugar was reduced more efficiently in obese mice treated with 12-HEPE than in untreated mice after they were injected with a concentrated glucose solution.