Frog skin holds key to diabetes treatment

Believe it or not, skin secretions from a South American frog stimulate insulin release. Scientists are hard at work on a synthetic version of the secretion. The synthetic version, called pseudin-2, may be useful in creating medications to treat type 2 diabetes. In fact, the synthetic version has been more effective than the natural form and there are no toxic effects on the cells. The concept isn't new. Another diabetes medication called exenatide was created from a saliva hormone from Gila monsters (a lizard).

Type 2 diabetes is where the body doesn't produce sufficient insulin or the body doesn't respond properly to insulin. The medication could help people with type 2 diabetes by generating more insulin production so glucose in the blood stream could be processed more efficiently.