Islet cell transplantation is the only available cell-based therapy currently in clinical practice for Type 1 diabetes. The therapy involves transplanting insulin-producing islet cells from a cadaveric donor pancreas into a person with Type 1 diabetes.

A major challenge confronting researchers is the body’s normal immune response, which is to try and kill any foreign cells such as the transplanted islets.

Professor Merlin Thomas, at Monash University, has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Type 2 Diabetes Millennium Research Award to support research into a new inhibitor which could help prevent and treat diabetes-related complications including heart attack, stroke or limb amputation.

Diabetes Australia has been busy talking to hundreds of parents, teachers and health professionals to help shape the development of the new National Diabetes in Schools Program.

During October, we conducted more than 75 workshops in all major cities across the country, as well as teleconference meetings for people located in rural and remote areas.

In addition to the face-to-face workshops and meetings, we provided a National online survey for parents, teachers and clinicians and received more than 2000 responses. At least 1000 responses were from parents.

One of the big challenges surrounding the type 2 diabetes epidemic is tackling the inter-generational cycle of the disease.

What do we mean by the inter-generational cycle? When someone develops type 2 diabetes it can cause changes in the body that may increase their children’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes which, in turn, increases their children’s children’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Sometimes it seems like the biggest challenge is not losing weight but keeping it off.

Associate Professor Craig Phillips from the University of Sydney suggests that one of the culprits may be sleep apnoea and that by treating the common condition people may be able to keep the weight off.

We sit at work. We sit at home. We sit in the car. We sit down to eat. We sit at in front of the tv. We sit at the movies. It is clear we spend a lot of our lives sitting. But, as plenty of new research seems to confirm, all this sitting is not be good for us.

One thing researchers have learnt is that prolonged sitting is associated with sustained higher blood glucose levels which, over time, can contribute to the development of a range of diabetes-related complications.