News

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.

Diabetes Australia today announced the appointment of Mr Barry O’Farrell, former Premier of New South Wales, as its new President and Board Chair.

Retiring President, Hon Judi Moylan AO, said Diabetes Australia was delighted to have attracted a very strong field of candidates and she welcomed Mr O’Farrell who took over the role from 1 January 2019.

Diabetes is a complex condition that can cause damage to a range of essential organs. That’s why Diabetes Australia is committed to funding important research projects examining every facet of the condition and its impact on people’s health.

For instance we’ve provided funding, through the Diabetes Australia Research Trust, to support Associate Professor Elif Ekinci from the University of Melbourne and her research into kidney disease which could lead to earlier detection.

Rod was a typical outdoorsy bloke who loved getting in the 4WD on the weekend and heading up the Western Australian coast to throw a line in at Wedge Island.

Unfortunately, a delayed diagnosis of type 2 diabetes which lead to several diabetes-related amputations has made it much harder for him to get around.

Diabetes Australia has welcomed the inclusion of $243.5 million over four years from 2018-19 (and $84.1 million per year ongoing) to support people with diabetes and the expansion of access to new glucose monitoring technologies.

Diabetes Australia CEO Professor Greg Johnson said it was very pleasing that the continuous glucose monitoring program, first announced in 2016 and extended recently by the Government, will form part of the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) from 1 January 2019.

Congratulations to South Australian pharmacist Kirrily Chambers who was named Innovative Pharmacist of the Year 2018.

Kirrily is a true pioneer among Australian pharmacists. In 2009 she qualified as a Credentialled Diabetes Educator and became the first Australian pharmacist to combine the two qualifications.

Professor Jerry Greenfield, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has been awarded the Diabetes Australia Research Trust 2019 Type 1 Diabetes Millennium Award to support research into insulin resistance in people with type 1 diabetes.

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.