University of Cambridge researchers have been awarded funding of £287,000 by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to test the effects of hypoglycaemia on long term memory function.
University of Cambridge researchers have been awarded funding of £287,000 by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to test the effects of hypoglycaemia on long term memory function.
A diagnosis of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, which typically develops during childhood, leaves the sufferer dependent on multiple daily insulin injections and blood tests.
However these do not stop the short-term problems of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) and the long term complications of strokes, heart disease, limb amputations, blindness and kidney disease.
A sudden fall in blood glucose can affect brain function, causing slow and muddled thinking. The research, headed by Dr Mark Evans from the Department of Medicine, will investigate whether recurrent episodes of severe hypoglycaemia can result in long term memory problems.
Diabetes is a chronic condition that impairs the body’s ability to use food properly. The hormone insulin metabolises glucose to provide energy, and is therefore vital for life.
In type 1 diabetes the body produces no insulin. The causes are not entirely known but scientists believe the body’s own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells.
It is estimated that 4.9 million people globally have type 1 diabetes. It represents the most severe form of a condition that annually accounts for almost £2.5 billion in healthcare costs in the UK alone and represents 4.3% of the total NHS budget.
Diabetes and its complications cost £5.2 billion each year, 9% of the NHS budget.
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