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    Centenary Institute > Research > Diabetes

Diabetes

Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disorder in which a person has high blood sugar.

Diabetes is a wide-spread health problem with around 1.7 million Australians suffering from the disease. 

What is diabetes?

Diabetes refers to a group of diseases which affect how the body uses blood sugar or glucose. Glucose is important for the body as a source of energy. However, instead of being turned into energy, or stored, in diabetes the glucose remains in the blood resulting in unnaturally high levels. A continuously high glucose level damages our organs including kidney, liver, pancreas and heart. Blood glucose is regulated by the hormone insulin.

What are the different types of diabetes?

There are four main types :

  • Type 1 diabetes: A lifelong autoimmune condition which results from the bodies inability to produce insulin.
  • Type 2 diabetes: A condition where the body becomes unable to use the insulin effectively.
  • Pre-diabetes: A condition in which the blood glucose levels are higher than normal but enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
  • Gestational diabetes: A form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, often a temporary condition that ends after the baby is born.

Who is at risk?

It is not known what causes the autoimmune reaction of Type 1 diabetes. It is not linked to modifiable lifestyle factors and there is no cure.

There is no single cause of type 2 diabetes. We know there are well-established risk factors. However, some risk factors can be controlled while others have a genetic basis.

Gestational diabetes affects thousands of women and is the fastest growing type of diabetes in Australia. Hormones from the placenta that help the baby grow can also block the mother’s insulin. There are a number of risk factors for pregnant women to develop diabetes, including age, family history and body weight.  

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

Diabetes symptoms are affected by how high your blood sugar is. Some people may not have any symptoms. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms tend to come on quickly and be more severe or life-threatening.

Common symptoms include:

  • thirsty, more than usual
  • passing more urine
  • feeling tired and weak
  • having cuts that heal slowly
  • itching, skin infections
  • blurred vision
  • unexplained weight loss (type 1)
  • gradually putting on weight (type 2)
  • mood changes

How is it treated?

Type 1 diabetes is managed with insulin injections several times a day or the use of an insulin pump. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can reduce the impact of diabetes-related complications including kidney disease, limb amputation and blindness.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, along with pre-diabetes and gestational diabetes rely upon maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These include healthy foods, physical activity and weight control. There are a variety of medications available. In advanced stages, insulin injections may be required to manage the disease.

The role of research

Our researchers are looking at multiple ways to treat diabetes. By understanding how the body works. They can see the fundamental mechanisms which are causing or affected by the disease. 

How the body’s metabolism manages glucose levels, insulin resistance and lipid (fat) levels. Where the disease hijacks the central nervous system, inflammation and immune response. Organs that usually manage glucose, such as pancreas and liver, can become dysfunctional. The heart, brain, blood vessels and eyes can be severely impacted by diabetes.

Inflammation and diabetes

Inflammation is critical in resolving infection or trauma. It is a fundamental mechanism by which the body’s immune system reacts to injury then commences healing. However, it also underlies a number of common acute and chronic conditions including diabetes. We are looking at what drives the initiation and progression of diabetes by understanding inflammation on a molecular level.

Diabetes and blindness

Diabetic retinopathy is a serious eye condition that can result in vision loss and blindness in people who have diabetes. It is caused when the blood vessels inside the retina at the back of the eye leak, or haemorrhage. 

Approximately one in three Australians over the age of 50 living with diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy.

Complications

The longer a person has diabetes (both type 1 and type 2), the higher their chances of developing diabetic retinopathy. 

If complications occur it can have a significant impact on quality of life and can reduce life expectancy.

Our research

More effective therapies are needed. At Centenary our research seeks to tackle diabetes in several ways, including work on liver enzymes as potential new treatment targets and improving insulin resistance.

DPP4 is an enzyme of tight specificity that is the target of a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. DPP4 is throughout our bodies. Of particular interest to us is that it lines the intestine, lungs and small blood vessels and is made by liver and pancreas. We have continually studied DPP4 since 1989 and created knowledge that was essential for its successful targeting as a diabetes therapy. We continue to study DPP4 in this and other disease areas.

Diabetes has many complications, including that of liver fibrosis. We are developing a diagnostic blood test with the goal of providing a cheap accurate way to know whether a person has liver fibrosis. This is primarily to assist diabetes clinics, liver clinics and GPs.

Professor Mark Gorrell, Head of Liver Enzyme in Metabolism and Inflammation Program leads this research

Liver is the chief metabolic organ in our body. It disposes of excessive nutrients as fine-tuned by insulin. When liver cells do not respond to insulin appropriately, known as insulin resistance, blood glucose cannot be lowered adequately, leading to the development of type 2 diabetes, a condition that is affecting 1.8 million Australians. Our research has discovered an enzyme (SphK2) is an essential anti-diabetic factor in the liver. Lack of this enzyme results in pronounced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, both symptoms of early-stage type 2 diabetes.

Using the big data analyses, has further shown that restoration of the enzyme level can effectively improve insulin resistance. These findings raise the possibility of a new treatment approach for diabetic patients.

Dr Jacob Qi, Head of Lipid Cell Biology Laboratory leads this research

This page was last reviewed by a Centenary researcher on 15 November, 2022.

Icons with Text on Sidebar

  • In 2018 diabetes was underlying or associated cause in over 1 in 10 deaths in Australia

  • Diabetes cost the Australian health system an estimated $2.7 billion in 2015-16

  • Over 30,000 started using insulin to treat diabetes in Australia in 2018

  • 1.2 million Australians self-reported they had diabetes in 2017-2018

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DPP4 is an enzyme of tight specificity that is the target of a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. DPP4 is throughout our bodies. Of particular interest to us is that it lines the intestine, lungs and small blood vessels and is made by liver and pancreas. We have continually studied DPP4 since 1989 and created knowledge that was essential for its successful targeting as a diabetes therapy. We continue to study DPP4 in this and other disease areas.

Diabetes has many complications, including that of liver fibrosis. We are developing a diagnostic blood test with the goal of providing a cheap accurate way to know whether a person has liver fibrosis. This is primarily to assist diabetes clinics, liver clinics and GPs.

Professor Mark Gorrell, Head of Liver Enzyme in Metabolism and Inflammation Program leads this research

Liver is the chief metabolic organ in our body. It disposes of excessive nutrients as fine-tuned by insulin. When liver cells do not respond to insulin appropriately, known as insulin resistance, blood glucose cannot be lowered adequately, leading to the development of type 2 diabetes, a condition that is affecting 1.8 million Australians. Our research has discovered an enzyme (SphK2) is an essential anti-diabetic factor in the liver. Lack of this enzyme results in pronounced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, both symptoms of early-stage type 2 diabetes.

Using the big data analyses, has further shown that restoration of the enzyme level can effectively improve insulin resistance. These findings raise the possibility of a new treatment approach for diabetic patients.

Dr Jacob Qi, Head of Lipid Cell Biology Laboratory leads this research

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