Recently, Prof. ZHANG Xin and her research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) reported a specific static magnetic field (SMF) setting could prevent the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in mice by improving iron metabolism.

Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges worldwide. Among the different types of diabetes, T2D is the predominant type that accounts for 90% of all diabetic patients.  

In this study, the group compared four different SMF settings with various magnetic field intensity, direction and distribution, for their effects on the development of T2D in mice.

By exposing the C57BL/6J mice to different SMF conditions and feeding them with high food diet (HFD) for six weeks, followed by intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg kg-1 streptozotocin (STZ) for three consecutive days at 11-week old to induce T2D, the researchers found that one of the magnetic field settings could decrease the blood glucose level by approximately 23.2%.

In addition, this SMF setting ameliorated T2D related symptoms, including weight gain, fatty liver and tissues injury. Besides, iron metabolism, pancreatic β cell function and gut microbiota were all improved.

This study shows that a device made of permanent magnets could significantly lower blood sugar level in T2D mice, providing a low-cost and non-invasive potential physical method to prevent and/or treat T2D.

"The effects of magnetic fields can be directly influenced by magnetic field intensity, direction and distributions," said Prof. ZHANG Xin from the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of HFIPS, who led the study, "so more clinical trials are needed to explore their potential applications on humans in the future."

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the HFIPS Director's Fund et al.

A static magnetic field with specific parameters improves iron metabolism and prevents HFD/STZ-induced diabetes. (Image by YU Biao)