Press information

July 05, 2006

The Ljungan virus causes diabetes among animals

The Swedish research company Apodemus has established earlier that the number of new cases of diabetes among humans covaries with the number of voles in the wild, which are often carriers of the Ljungan virus. New research now shows that animals that are infected with the virus develop diabetes. The results are published in the scientific journal Diabetologia.

– Our studies show that animals infected with the Ljungan virus develop diabetes and confirm that stress aggravates the course of the disease. Our theory is that the Ljungan virus is the piece of the puzzle that is needed for us to fully understand why some people develop diabetes, says Bo Niklasson, research director of Apodemus.

The study made by Apodemus will be published in the upcoming issue of the scientific journal Diabetologia, the official organ for The European Association for the Study of Diabetes. This shows that the Ljungan virus affects the insulin producing cells of laboratory mice and that they develop diabetes.

The age of the animal at the time of infection and the level of stress in its environment have shown to be of great importance to the course of the disease. The earlier in its life that the animal is infected and the more stress it is subjected to, the larger is the risk for the animal to fall ill with diabetes.

Apodemus has for a long time pointed out that the presence of wild rodents in nature, carriers of the Ljungan Virus, covaries with the number of new cases of diabetes among humans. In areas where the number of voles covaries substantially over the years, the connection is especially manifest.

– The new research results mean that different types of treatment directed to the virus infection can be tested. We have good hope that this may be a crucial step for the development of an effective treatment of diabetes in humans, says Bo Niklasson.

For further information, please contact:
Bo Niklasson, Research Director at Apodemus AB, +46 708 23 23 23, bo.niklasson@apodemus.se

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The research company Apodemus AB hypothesise that several chronic diseases may be caused by a virus, the Ljungan virus, which is transmitted from animals to humans. The Ljungan virus is carried by bank voles, the most common mammal in Scandinavia.