Diabetes Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Lee to a new role to strengthen the focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and diabetes.

Diabetes Australia CEO Professor Greg Johnson said he was excited that Chris had taken on the challenge to help improve outcomes for First Nations people with diabetes.

“Chris is from the Larrakia peoples of Darwin in the Northern Territory and brings more than 25 years’ experience in effective engagement and consultation with First Nations communities,” Professor Johnson said.

Around 630,000 Australians with diabetes are at risk of vision loss or blindness because they aren’t having their eyes checked regularly.

Diabetes Australia CEO Professor Greg Johnson said diabetes was a leading cause of preventable blindness in working age Australians, yet with regular eye checks, most vision loss was preventable.

Did you know sitting for long periods can have a serious impact on your health? This could be an issue if you have a desk job.

A new study from Deakin University, and supported by the Diabetes Australia Research Trust, has found that taking 500mg of vitamin C twice daily can help those with type 2 diabetes by lowering elevated blood sugar levels across the day and minimising spikes in blood sugar after meals.

The randomised cross-over study, recently published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, also found vitamin C lowered blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes, suggesting benefits for heart health too.

Insulin resistance is the process where the body stops responding to insulin like it should. It can lead to type 2 diabetes. Researchers hope that a better understanding of the process of insulin resistance could pave the way for new treatments to help prevent the condition.

With the support of a grant from the Diabetes Australia Research Trust, Dr Andrew Sutherland from St Vincent’s Institute Medical Research is studying a new way of potentially preventing and treating type 1 diabetes.

“There are a class of immune cells, Th17, that can play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes so we want to identify the molecules these cells produce. This could pave the way for the development of new therapies,” Dr Sutherland said.