Type 2 diabetes is directly related to how our muscles convert sugar, according to a landmark new study that could open the door to new treatments of the metabolic disorder.

For the study, published in Molecular Metabolism, researchers at the University of Melbourne's Medical School at the Austin Hospital used gene splicing technology to come up with the first strong evidence that when muscles fail to convert glucose into a substance called glycogen, it leads diabetes, Medical Xpress reports.

The findings could lead to development of a drug to that could convert glucose into glycogen when muscle metabolism fails, the researchers say.

"We've known for decades the inability of muscle and fat to respond to insulin (known as insulin resistance) is a major mechanism that leads to high glucose levels in Type 2 diabetes," said lead researcher Sof Andrikopoulos, a University of Melbourne associate professor.

"If you have insulin resistance, the sugar stays in your bloodstream. So the inability of the muscle to transport sugar into the muscle cell is what leads to higher blood sugar levels."

He added: "None of the drugs available at the moment treat the underlying cause of the disease. This provides us with more information about which pathways we should target to treat diabetes. Currently, we don't have any drugs that target this pathway.

"The study also explains why one of the reasons patients with diabetes don't exercise properly is that they may not have glycogen — if you improve your glycogen stores, you improve the ability to exercise."

Diabetes is linked to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, mental illnesses and blindness.