The treatment with a sweet name that may save your heart

BRITISH scientists have discovered a new treatment which could prevent thousands of men developing diabetes and deadly heart disease – based on a hormone named after a chocolate sweet.

Both health threats are linked in many males to low testosterone levels which can cause a resistance to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance leads to Type 2 diabetes which is in turn associated with heart disease.

Now researchers have found that testosterone levels can be stabilised by administering a hormone called kisspeptin. The hormone was originally discovered in Hershey, Pennsylvania – home to one of the US’s largest sweet makers – and was named after Hershey’s hugely popular Kisses brand of chocolate treats.

The medical research team, from the University of Edinburgh, gave kisspeptin to men suffering from both Type 2 diabetes and low testosterone.

They found that raising levels of the hormone, which is already found naturally in the body, triggered testosterone production without unfortunate side effects.

At least one third of men with Type 2 diabetes have low testosterone levels. Currently low testosterone is treated with supplementary injections or gels.

But they can lead to abnormally high levels being produced, causing temporary infertility, mood swings and acne.

Using the kisspeptin treatment meant levels of testosterone in the blood did not rise above normal.

The study is published in the Journal Clinical Endocrinology. It was funded by the Medical Research Council, which hopes that kisspeptin can eventually be used widely as a remedy for testosterone defi ciency.

Dr Jyothis George of the University

Diabetes sufferers risk heart problems of Edinburgh, said: “We know that low testosterone leads to an increased risk of heart disease.

“This treatment shows that kisspeptin can stimulate the body’s own production of testosterone, without testosterone levels becoming too high.

“We hope kisspeptin could potentially be used to treat testosterone defi ciency.”

The research was carried out on fi ve male patients with an average age of 34, all of whom suffered from both diabetes and low testosterone levels. They were given the hormone via a drip. A wider study is being planned.

Edinburgh University’s research team also plans to investigate ways that kisspeptin could be administered over a longer time period, such as via slow- release injections under the skin.

The charity Diabetes UK estimates that the risk of heart disease is fi ve times higher in middle aged men with diabetes.