Diabetes Matters - online subscriptions are no longer available Winter 2015 | Page 29
Research
Insight
by Diabetes Research WA
executive director Sherl Westlund
Professor Grant Morahan
Sherl Westlund
W
e are excited to be part of two groundbreaking research projects that hold hope of delivering breakthroughs
in type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and are pleased to provide this update.
T2D & Brain-related Changes
Our 2011 Alex Cohen Diabetes Top Up Scholarship
recipient Nicole Milne’s research focuses on the lesser known
complications of T2D, including brain-related changes, which
can lead to cognitive problems such as memory difficulties. A
UWA School of Psychology PhD student, Nicole’s research aims
to determine the pattern of cognitive changes in older adults with
T2D, and examine the potential of biomarkers (MRI brain scans,
blood sample measures) to identify people at risk of developing
future diabetes-related cognitive problems.
Initial findings showed T2D can dramatically affect the everyday
thinking skills of up to one-in-three adults over 60. Attention,
speed of thought, and higher-level thinking skills were
compromised in older adults with T2D, compared to others of
the same age. Poorer thinking skills corresponded with smaller
volume of the hippocampus, an area of the brain commonly
associated with memory and learning.
At an 18-month follow-up visit, most participants’ thinking
skills were relatively unchanged but were still below age-based
expectations. However, almost 1 in 10 participants displayed
cognitive decline on a clinical rating scale for dementia during
the study’s first 18 months. Differences were also detected on
MRI scans. Participants whose left hippocampus was larger than
the right had an increased likelihood of decline in dementia
status 18 months later. This suggests that in T2D, hippocampal
abnormalities and slowed thinking skills may be present up to 18
months before a decline in dementia status.
While the final, three year follow-up data are currently being
analysed, it’s hoped the new knowledge already uncovered from
this research – which is supervised by Professor Romola Bucks,
UWA School of Psychology, and Winthrop Professor David
Bruce, UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology – may lead
to ways to lessen the impact T2D can have on memory and
thinking skills.
Large New Study into T1D
Professor Grant Morahan is Head of WA’s Centre for Diabetes
Research, which was founded 10 years ago with funds from a
number of groups including Diabetes Research WA. His team
is now playing a key role in a new study hoping to unravel the
mystery of what causes T1D.
The Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity Study,
Australia’s biggest study into the causes of T1D, is to identify
how environmental factors, together with a person’s genes, affect
their risk of developing it. Fourteen hundred pregnant women,
including WA mums, will be recruited. Only those whose babies
have an immediate relative (mum, dad or sibling) with T1D will
be able to take part, because they’re most at risk of developing
T1D.
Researchers suspect certain environmental triggers can
cause T1D to develop early in life and it’s possible children
are exposed to these triggers before birth. The study will
investigate environmental factors that may contribute to
the development of T1D in children, including the genes
of the child and their family member with T1D, the method
of delivery (natural versus caesarean), the mother’s nutrition
during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the child’s immune
system and when they received vaccines, and exposure to
viruses during pregnancy and early life. Head to endia.org.au
for more details
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