7 September DRC Director's Report - September 2022 September 7, 2022 By The Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center DRC, Iowa, Diabetes 0 Over the past decade, evidence has emerged indicating that high blood sugars in type 1 diabetes cause adverse brain changes in children. The adverse changes include abnormal brain structural alterations and reduced functioning on some cognitive tests. Over the past few years, hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps have become commercially available. These devices combine a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with an insulin pump that is controlled by an algorithm that uses the CGM data to inform insulin delivery. The hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps aim to keep blood sugar in the low 100s (mg/dL). These systems can often improve average blood sugars and reduce the severity and frequency of low and high blood sugars. It is thus natural to ask whether the improved blood sugar control offered by a hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps might reduce the adverse brain effects of type 1 diabetes in children. FOEDRC faculty Dr. Mike Tansey and Dr. Eva Tsalikian were among a small group of diabetes physicians across the United States who designed such a study to answer this very question. The initial results from the study were just published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. Their randomized clinical study involved 42 adolescents with type 1 diabetes who were randomized to a hybrid closed-loop insulin pump versus conventional therapy. They were studied 6 months later, undergoing a brain MRI and cognitive testing. Although this study was considered a pilot trial, the results showed significantly less adverse impacts in those randomized to the hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps. The hybrid closed-loop insulin pump group performed better on a cognitive test of perceptual reasoning and had fewer abnormal structural brain changes. These results add to the growing evidence showing that excessive hyperglycemia is damaging to the developing brain during childhood. This study shows the important positive impact that hybrid closed-loop insulin pumps can make in improving blood sugar levels and long-term outcomes in children with diabetes. 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 - September 2021 Congratulations to Huxing Cui, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology and member of the FOEDRC, who is the recent recipient of a National Institutes of Health R01 grant. Cui’s grant funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides $2,267,270 through March of 2025. The proposal is entitled: “Decoding brain circuit underlying metabolic regulation of sleep-wake behavior”. Sleep disorders and obesity are inextricably linked – poor sleep quality and short sleep duration increase the risk of developing obesity, while obesity is an independent risk factor for chronic sleep disruption (CSD) and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). 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. DRC Director's Report - December 2022 We recently announced the results of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center twelfth round of pilot and feasibility research grants. These grant awards fund innovative pilot projects by early career investigators who are entering the diabetes research field, or established investigators with innovative ideas that focus on a new direction in diabetes research. The goal of the program is to generate data that will enable awardees to compete for peer-reviewed national funding for projects that show exceptional promise. A total of 13 researchers from across the University of Iowa campus submitted meritorious proposals that underwent a comprehensive and competitive review. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.