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ePaper created 2014-12-22, 09:34:33 | version 1.34.00
Energie I Erde und Umwelt I Gesundheit I Luftfahrt, Raumfahrt und Verkehr I Schlüsseltechnologien I Struktur der Materie 25 Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases The aim of this programme is to study the causes and patho- physiological aspects of cardiovascular disease at the cellular, genetic and epigenetic levels and to investigate their inter- action with environmental causes. The findings will be used to develop new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies. The programme takes a translational approach, transforming new results into clinical applications as quickly as possible. Infection Research This programme concentrates on the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development and course of infectious diseases. Knowledge of the interactions between hosts and pathogens is providing a foundation for the elaboration of new prevention and treatment strategies. Focuses include the study of newly emerging infectious diseases, the identifi- cation of new drugs to overcome pathogen resistance, the relationship between infection and age, as well as diagnostics “We can influence metabolism using hormones that have a direct impact on the digestive organs – and also on the brain,” says Matthias Tschöp, scientific director of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center at the Helmholtz Zentrum München. Via a complex network of signalling molecules, the stomach, intestine and pancreas communicate directly with the brain – and vice versa. The disruption of this interaction in patients suffering from diabetes and obesity is now being targeted by novel therapeutic approaches. Surgical treatments of obesity, such as gastric bypass, are able to improve blood sugar levels in patients even before they lose weight. The Munich-based scientists achieved the same effect by placing a tube or sleeve in part of the small intestine to inhibit its function instead of performing a complex operation. The advantage of this method is that it is much less invasive and can be reversed. These interventions in the gastrointestinal tract alter the body’s hormonal control system. Tschöp and his team found that sensitivity to the intestinal hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) played a key role in the effec tiveness of the surgical procedure. In the future, a TRICKING THE BRAIN – HORMONAL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO DIABETES Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health corresponding hormone test could make it possible to individually tailor surgical methods. The positive effect that the operations had on fat and sugar metabolism can be explained by the altered concentrations and effects of metabolic hormones such as the insulin-stimulating GLP-1 and GIP (gastric inhibitory peptide). This suggests that physicians could administer such hormones to patients in order to mimic these positive effects – or, as Tschöp puts it, “to trick the brain into believing that an operation has taken place”. GLP-1 based drugs have long been used to treat diabetes, but Tschöp and his team wanted to maximise their impact. They have managed to create a multifunctional combination of hormones that brings together the positive properties of several hormones in a single molecule. With it they have been able to improve blood sugar levels and reduce body weight in animals. “We know that the messenger substances have complex functions,” says Tschöp. “Our goal is to crack their code so that we can develop new therapies for common diseases such as diabetes and obesity.” Further examples from this research field g 3D reconstruction of nerve and glial cells in the hypothal- amus – the brain region that regulates blood sugar levels in combination with messenger substances. Image: Chun-Xia Yi/Helmholtz Zentrum München Energy I Earth and Environment I Health I Aeronautics, Space and Transport I Key Technologies I Structure of Matter