A new screening method developed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center could help medical professionals identify those at risk of metabolic disorders.
For the first time, researchers were able to use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure the amount of pancreatic fat in humans.
The study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that overweight and obese participants had high amounts of pancreatic fat. Those who had pre-diabetes and diabetes had even higher amounts of fat in the pancreas.
“These are very early results, but if they hold true, pancreatic MRS would be a fast and noninvasive test to screen people at risk for diabetes either because theyre obese or they have a family history of type 2 diabetes, or metabolic syndrome,” said lead author of the study Dr. Ildiko Lingvay. She added that the next step is to determine whether reducing the amount of fat in the pancreas lowers diabetes risk.
Proper nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight are tried-and-true ways to reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
In addition, nutritional health supplements containing chromium, magnesium and vanadium have been used to manage diabetes, according to WebMD.