What is it about?

Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-21 is a metabolic regulator that has a potential to be used in the treatment and diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and other similar diseases. This regulator can lower blood sugar and cholesterol hence may be used to treat diabetes and lipid disorders. Exploration of this compound had only been done in Asian and European populations. Our research has shown that body fatness especially within the abdomen, reflects the levels of circulating FGF-21 in serum of obese African males with or without type 2 diabetes. This implies that FGF-21 serum levels are high in obesity, and directly or indirectly controlled by body fatness as previously shown in Asians and European populations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on FGF-21 in African males with or without diabetes and extend the understanding of this promising regulator to an African population.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This is the first report from Africa on an important endocrine regulator that has a potential to be developed as a drug or diagnostic bio-maker for metabolic diseases.

Perspectives

In this publication we inform the scientific community all over the world how FGF-21 behaves and is regulated in an African population. To date, the only report from Africa that involve African males with obesity

fredirick mashili
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Adiposity Is a Key Correlate of Circulating Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 Levels in African Males with or without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Journal of Obesity, September 2018, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2018/7461903.
You can read the full text:

Read
Open access logo

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page