Diabetic Digest - February 17, 2016

Readers:

I've been shoveling and shoveling and shoveling snow. I'm really tired, but it's a good kind of tired. I'm sure that I'll sleep very well tonight and have to shovel even more tomorrow, which couldn't be better for my health and my driveway. That seems to be where I get the majority of my exercise during the winter months, and chasing after my kids, but I know my limitations. If it gets too intense out there then I'll just borrow my neighbor's snowblower... or just breakdown and buy some gas for my own snowblower.

Regards,
Steve

P.S. Did you miss an issue? You can read every issue from the Gophercentral library of newsletters on our exhaustive archives page. Thousands of issues, all of your favorite publications in chronological order. You can read AND comment. Just click GopherArchives

Comments? Questions? Email Steve


*-- Diabetic News --*
Scientists identify possible trigger for type 1 diabetes
AURORA, Colo. - Scientists have identified a hybrid insulin peptide as the possible trigger for the autoimmune response causing type 1 diabetes, according to a new study with mice.

University of Colorado researchers made the finding while working to understand why immune cells attack the body's own tissues, finding a mutation causing the formation of the hybrid peptides.

Type 1 diabetes is an inherited autoimmune disorder, which involves insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas to be destroyed by immune cells.

"Our lab studies the type of T cell known as a CD4 T cell," said Dr. Kathryn Haskins, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in a press release. "We have focused on autoreactive CD4 T cells using a mouse model of autoimmune diabetes. We have been especially interested in identifying the antigens that activate these T cells."

The researchers first worked with mice, using mass spectrometry, to find the peptide targets of CD4 T cells in type 1 diabetes.

They found a new class of antigen present in beta cells consisting of insulin fragments fused to peptides of other proteins, which leads to the generation of hybrid insulin peptides not encoded in an individual's genome. The mutation no longer matching the proper gene is then identified as a foreign body, causing the autoimmune response.

Researchers write in the study, published in the journal Science, that similar hybrid peptides were found in T cells isolated from the pancreatic islets of two people with type 1 diabetes as well. This, they said, suggests future research into their possible role in driving the disease.


*-- Diabetic News --*
CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER & CHEESE SOUP
6 Servings

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups Water
1 md Onion, chopped fine
2 ts Basil
1 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
2 1/2 c To 3 c cauliflower florets, cut to uniform size
2 tb Butter
2 tb Flour
1 cup Hot chicken stock
2 cups Milk
1/4 lb Cheddar cheese, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS:
If you want to cut down in the fats in the recipe, use margarine and skim milk for the butter and the milk. In a heavy 4 qt kettle, cook water, onion, basil, salt, and pepper covered for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add cauliflower. Cover and cook until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes. In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and mix until none of the flour remains white. Slowly add hot stock. Stir with whisk until smooth. Pour into soup and mix well. In saucepan, heat milk. Add cheese and stir over low heat until melted. Add to soup. Mix well and heat until soup begins to steam.

***
Missed an Issue? Visit the Diabetic Digest Archives