Enzyme may aid in detecting diabetes

BALTIMORE An enzyme produced by the body may make it easier to detect diabetes, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The research, published in Diabetes, examined a sugar, known as O-GlcNAc, which plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance and glucose toxicity, the researchers said. The researchers also examined an enzyme called O-GlcNAcase, which removes O-GlcNAc from O-GlcNAcylated proteins, and found elevated levels of the enzyme in those with diabetes and prediabetes than in controls with no disease.