Don’t fancy running laps under the sun? What if you could play video games instead, in the comfort of your own home, and still reap the benefits of physical activity?   Although gaming has been criticised for contributing to rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes, researchers from Brazil and the UK have found that playing active video games (‘exergames’) has similar effects on the body as more traditional physical activity.   Their study compared various cardiovascular measurements, such as heart rate and blood pressure, and perc ..read more

Can exercise help to prevent or reverse fatty liver disease? Professor Stephen Twigg, head of endocrinology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Kellion Professor of Endocrinology and Stan Clark Chair in Diabetes at the University of Sydney, is looking at whether certain types of exercise have an effect on a severe type of fatty liver disease common in people with type 2 diabetes. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (known as NASH) is the most severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. “There is a very strong link between NASH and type 2 diabetes,” says Professor Twigg. “About 20 perce ..read more

Thanks to Diabetes Australia’s Millennium Research Award, Professor Merlin Thomas, head of the Biochemistry of Diabetes Complications Laboratory at Monash University, is researching an inhibitor which could help prevent and treat diabetes-related heart and kidney problems. “My focus is on diabetic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease, which are both major killers of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes,” he says. “I focus on ways to change the development and progression of these diseases in people with diabetes.” Professor Thomas says diabetes is one of the leading causes of cardiovasc ..read more

Brisbane father of two, Robert Nettleton appreciates the significance of the discovery of insulin 100 years ago. Insulin saved his grandfathers’ eyesight; it has also given him and his eight-year old son a life that wouldn’t have been possible without the medical breakthrough. “My grandfather had type 2 diabetes, insulin gave him a few extra years of life and enabled him to see and meet grandchildren and great grandchildren.  I was diagnosed with type 1 and without insulin I wouldn’t have my family. Diabetes was a death sentence before insulin was discovered, so I don’t think we really ap ..read more

For many people modern life involves an awful lot of sitting down. This isn’t ideal for many reasons, but one that people with diabetes should be aware of is how too much sitting can contribute to the development of diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy — a type of nerve damage that most commonly affects the legs and feet. A recent study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice has found that people with diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy who are sedentary (sitting down, not moving) at least 12 hours a day are more likely to develop a diabetes foot ulcer.   The study foun ..read more

Top Melbourne researcher and clinician, Professor Paul Zimmet AO has been   in the American Diabetes Association’s international medical journal,  , for his extraordinary contributions to the field of diabetes. Long-time collaborator, Professor Jonathan Shaw from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has penned the moving tribute titled ‘A Voice for Diabetes’. It highlights the profound impact that Professor Zimmet has had on the lives of people living with diabetes around the world throughout his 50-year career. Professor Zimmet’s pioneering research in Pacific and Indian Ocea ..read more

Diabetes research is important because there is still so much we do not about what causes diabetes and how we can prevent or treat it. Why did you get into diabetes research? Growing up I have seen several people around me with diabetes and I always wanted to know more about it and wanted to somehow do something to better the lives of those affected with the disease. How long have you been involved in diabetes research? I started working in diabetes research immediately after I finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne. I joined the laboratory of Professor Joseph Proietto ..read more

For a six year old I had been to the hospital a few times, most of them I didn’t really understand why apart from the fact my throat hurt or I had a bad tummy ache This was different. I wasn’t sure why we suddenly drove to the hospital and why we did not leave in a few hours, it took almost a week for us to go home. It doesn’t sound like much but it felt like forever at such a young age. For the past couple months I had been feeling sick. I was drinking excessive amounts of water, I was always hot and I felt like I was going to vomit a lot of the time. After a while of brushing it off as “It’s ..read more

An apple a day might not always keep the doctor away, but two apples a day certainly might lower your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. A new study has found a link between eating at least two serves of fresh fruit daily, and lower odds of developing type 2 diabetes. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and examined data from over 7000 Australians over a period of five years. The study revealed that people who had a consistent intake of at least two serves of fresh fruit a day had higher insulin sensitivity than those who ate less than half a ser ..read more

A new mobile health platform to help pregnant women manage and track their gestational diabetes, has been developed by the CSIRO. Gestational diabetes occurs in one in eight pregnancies in Australia and can increase the risk of both  complications in pregnancy and birth. The app called MoTHer, replaces traditional paper-based diary system. Pregnant women can record information in the app such as blood glucose levels, blood pressure, weight, diet and exercise. The information is uploaded to the linked clinician portal, so their dietitian, diabetes educator, midwife and obstetrician are abl ..read more