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 • 29