Dealing with diabetes
Issued: Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:56:00 BST
Diabetes is one of the most challenging health issues of our time.
Researchers in the University’s College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences are among those at the forefront of scientific study into the causes and treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
Professor Naveed Sattar leads this work with colleagues in the Institute for Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences.
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still produce some insulin but not enough for its needs or when the insulin that the body produces does not work properly.
Every year, treating diabetes costs the NHS £9billon.
According to the latest Scottish Diabetes Survey (2009), more than 200,000 people living in Scotland have been diagnosed with Type 2. The same report also recorded an increase in the incidence of the condition directly related to rising levels of obesity.
In England and Wales the picture is similarly concerning.
Around five per cent of adults in England have diagnosed Type 2 diabetes and a further three percent of men and two per cent of women aged over 35 may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
The figure of undiagnosed cases in Scotland is thought to be around 20,000.
Here, Professor Sattar talks about a recent grant his group received from Diabetes UK, the country’s leading charity for the condition, to investigate whether or not Vitamin D can help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Along with the studying causes and treatment, Professor Sattar’s group also works on examining the importance of obesity and maternal programming in the development of diabetes, as well as understanding novel risk factor pathways such as inflammation and vascular function.