7 April DRC Director's Report - April 2022 April 7, 2022 By The Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center DRC, Diabetes, Diabetes Research Center, Eagles, Iowa 0 A research team that includes several FOEDRC faculty recently published an article describing a new approach to help treat type 2 diabetes. The research team included FOEDRC faculty members Robert Kerns PhD, Andrew Norris MD PhD, Eric Taylor PhD, Yumi Imai MD, and Jessica Smith MD. Also recognized in the publication was Wojciech Grzesik, PhD, who is a research scientist in the FOEDRC metabolic phenotyping core. The work was published in the prestigious journal "Nature Communications" and can be found at this link : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35145074/ Type 2 diabetes affects over 35 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability, expense, and mortality. Type 2 diabetes rates are climbing, in part because there are not yet optimal therapies and preventative strategies. This newly published study reports the development of new prototype drugs that treat type 2 diabetes in mice. The target of these new prototype drugs is a protein named SWELL1. It is a chloride transport protein and is involved in beta-cell and adipose tissue functions. Interestingly, these new prototype drugs inhibit SWELL1 and simultaneously improve insulin sensitivity and increase beta-cell function. Because poor insulin sensitivity and poor beta-cell function are the two factors that cause type 2 diabetes, this new class of drugs represents a two-pronged approach to prevent and/or treat type 2 diabetes. As proof of concept, the investigators found that these prototype drugs potently improved blood sugar levels in mice with type 2 diabetes. The research was directed by Rajan Sah MD PhD, a former member of the FOEDRC who is currently faculty at Washington University in St Louis. The work was bolstered by ongoing collaborations between Dr. Sah and the FOEDRC. Furthermore, this line of research was initiated at the FOEDRC while Dr. Sah was faculty at the University of Iowa. Related Articles DRC Director's Report - July 2022 Recently, the University of Iowa Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC) held our annual Diabetes Research Day in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. This year, Diabetes Research Day was a hybrid event comprised of speakers from both institutions and split into two different events. Our first keynote speaker was Bryan Bergman, PhD. Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who gave a talk entitled Intermuscular Adipose Tissue: A Novel Adipose Depot Impacting Muscle Strength, Size, and Insulin Sensitivity in Humans. DRC Director's Report - April 2021 FOEDRC member Matthew Potthoff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, and graduate student Sharon Jensen-Cody recently wrote a review article entitled: “Hepatokines and metabolism: Deciphering communication from the liver” that was published in the Journal Molecular Metabolism. This article was featured on the cover of the February issue of the Journal, that increased the visibility of their work. DRC Director's Report - April 2019 In a recent study done by Wei Bao, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and member of the FOEDRC, his research team found that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially fried chicken and fried fish/shellfish, was associated with a higher risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease in women in the United States. Women with at least one serving per week of fried chicken had a 13% higher risk of death from all causes, and a 12% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, when compared with women with no consumption of fried chicken. DRC Director's Report - May 2022 Obesity causes a buildup of fat metabolites, including a toxic lipid molecule ceramide. Buildup of ceramide worsens health because it contributes to the development of diabetes and other diseases. Previous work has shown that targeting ceramide is an effective strategy to treat obesity, diabetes and associated cardiovascular disease. This can be achieved using a molecule called myriocin which is a very potent inhibitor of ceramide generation. Myriocin-mediated reduction of ceramide levels was found to be an effective way to treat obesity and associated diseases in rodents. Myriocin, which is not approved for use in humans, is abundant in a number of fungal species including the one called Cordyceps which is routinely consumed as part of traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of numerous diseases including diabetes. DRC Director's Report - June 2022 On May 24, 2022, Fraternal Order of Eagles members joined the University of Iowa President, College of Medicine Executive Dean, faculty, staff and students for an investiture ceremony honoring three Carver of College of Medicine faculty. DRC Director's Report - August 2022 This June, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) hosted its 82nd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, LA. Each year, thousands of attendees join together from across the world to hear the latest cutting-edge research. Sharing the latest scientific findings, the annual meeting is the largest and most important gathering focused on diabetes research. The ADA is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 82 years, the ADA has driven research to treat, manage and prevent diabetes while also working relentlessly for a cure. Diabetes is the most common underlying chronic condition in the United States. 133 million Americans currently live with diabetes or prediabetes and, in the last 20 years, the number of Americans with diagnosed diabetes has more than doubled. The ADA is focused on timely, critical advancements in diabetes research and care. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.