In order to make their discovery, researchers put rats on a four week diet of high-fat and fructose meals to establish a metabolic condition that mimics type 2 diabetes. They injected an antisense oligonucleotide targeted to inhibit the expression of the Sirtiun 1 gene. Inhibiting Sirtiun 1 in the liver may then be an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes in humans since the disorder usually cannot be cured through exclusively proper diet and exercise.

The occurence rates of type 2 diabetes have doubled since 1990 and it is increasingly being diagnosed in children, despite being known as “adult-onset diabetes.” Due to its prominence in the US, research such as this on diabetes can help thousands of people in the US.