Diabetes Research
Applying magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging to explain the abnormal storage of fat and glycogen in pancreas, liver and muscle in Type 2 diabetes.
Other current studies
Other current studies have allowed identification of the failure of muscle glycogen storage and abnormal storage of fat in muscle after eating in Type 2 diabetes. This work is revolutionising concepts of intra-organ energy storage after eating both in normal health and in diabetes. Additionally it has been demonstrated that DPP-4 inhibitors (specifically Vildagliptin) decrease liver fat stores.
We have shown that there is no intrinsic abnormality in mitochondrial ATP production in muscle of people with Type 2 diabetes.
We have developed methods to evaluate kidney disease in diabetes.
Current and planned work
The DiRECT study will find out how well reversal of Type 2 diabetes works when done by Practice Nurses in General Practice. It is a cluster randomised controlled trial which will also define how durable is the return to normal glucose control, how people cope with the programme and what underlying changes in liver and pancreas determine outcome. Visit the DiRECT website.
Studies of the effect of exercise training on the previously defined abnormal muscle metabolism in Type 2 diabetes.
These studies have been supported by:
- Diabetes UK
- the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation
- the Wellcome Trust
- Novartis Pharma AG
- the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes
The ReTUNE study
Professor Roy Taylor’s team tested whether type 2 diabetes in people who have a normal BMI is also caused by too much fat inside liver and pancreas. If so, we would expect most people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes to be able to return to normal blood sugar levels long term.
An important additional aim is to test whether we can detect traces in the blood that the normal fat stores are overfilled during diabetes and whether these traces return to normal when diabetes is put into remission. Such a simple blood test would be very useful.