RELEASE ON RECEIPT


                                          Contact: Anne Oplinger
    BASIC RESEARCH LEADS TO ADVANCES AGAINST TYPE II DIABETES
     CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., MAY 26 -- A drug that may stave off a
form of diabetes and a simple urine test to detect people at risk
for developing the condition are the latest fruits of long-term
research by pharmacologist Dr. Joseph Larner and his colleagues at
the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
     Approximately 12 million Americans have Type II diabetes, or
Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), and complications
from the condition make it the fourth leading cause of death by
disease in the United States.  The annual cost of this disease to
the health care system is in excess of $92 billion.
     Earlier this month, Metformin, an oral drug to treat Type II
diabetes, became available in the U.S.  "While Metformin represents
an advance in the treatment of Type II diabetes, it does have side
effects.  The therapy we are developing should be free of side
effects because it works directly to correct an underlying cellular
malfunction in diabetes," said John Price, a research scientist in
Larner's lab.
     Persons with Type II diabetes do produce the hormone insulin,
which is needed to regulate blood sugar (glucose).  Normally,
insulin is released into the bloodstream from the pancreas after a
meal.  Insulin molecules bind to the surface of cells, setting off 
a chain reaction in which intracellular chemicals, called second
messengers, direct the cell to take up glucose from the blood.  In
persons with Type II diabetes, this complex mechanism fails and
insulin's message is not conveyed into the cells.  This condition
is known as insulin resistance.
     "Recently, we have isolated and identified two key second-
messenger compounds, both of which are reduced or absent in people
with Type II diabetes," said Price.  One chemical is a disaccharide
(double sugar), he explained.  "We have synthesized this molecule
in our lab and injected it into diabetic rats and monkeys.  The
result was a dramatic lowering of blood glucose to near-normal
levels,"  he said.
     The second compound being studied by Larner's group is a
monosaccharide (single sugar) known as D-chiro-inositol (DCI),
which previously was believed to exist only in plants and insects. 
"DCI is one half of the disaccharide that is missing in people with
Type II diabetes," said Price.  "We have shown that people with
Type II diabetes may have very low levels of DCI; perhaps this is
why they cannot produce the disaccharide necessary for glucose
regulation," he added.
     Currently, DCI is purified from extracts of pine wood.  It is
also present in foods such as beans, peas and chickpeas.  Price is
attempting to synthesize it from more easily available basic
chemicals.  Ultimately, he said, the compound could be given
orally.  Several pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest 
in beginning 'scale up' research, in which methods will be
developed for manufacturing DCI in large amounts.
     Research out of Larner's lab has also shown than many Type II
diabetics and their relatives have reduced levels of DCI in their
urine.  This finding enabled the scientists to develop and
distribute a urine test.  It is now being used by other researchers
to identify people whose low levels of urinary DCI indicates
insulin resistance.  Such people, Price notes, are at risk for
developing Type II diabetes.
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                                                     May 25, 1995
REPORTERS AND EDITORS:

John Price is currently working to manufacture DCI (a chemical for
treating Type II diabetes) from commonly used raw materials.  He
may be reached for more information at (804) 924-9972.