| abstract |
Disclosed is the use of uncarboxylated/undercarboxylated osteocalcin, or a biologically active fragment thereof, for the manufacture of a medicament for the therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of a disorder selected from the group consisting of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, glucose intolerance, a vascular disorder, atherosclerosis, and obesity in a mammal, wherein the uncarboxylated/undercarboxylated osteocalcin or the biologically active fragment thereof is capable of causing at least one effect selected from the group consisting of increasing pancreatic beta-cell proliferation, increasing insulin production, increasing insulin secretion, increasing insulin sensitivity, increasing glucose tolerance, decreasing weight gain, decreasing fat mass, weight loss, increasing serum adiponectin, a reduction of oxidized phospholipids, a regression of atherosclerotic plaques, a decrease in inflammatory protein biosynthesis, a reduction in plasma cholesterol, a reduction in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and number, a decrease in the thickness of arterial plaque, a reduction in clinical events such as heart attack, angina, or stroke, and a decrease in hypertension. |