U of S Researchers Awarded $83,000 to Study Diabetes
Posted September 08, 2000
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ? Friday, September 8, 2000
U of S Researchers Awarded $83,000 to Study Diabetes
Two University of Saskatchewan researchers will use a total of $83,000 from
the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) to study new drugs and therapies
that could improve treatment for people with the disease.
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not produce or properly
use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into
energy needed for daily life. There is no cure for diabetes. Many patients
discover they have the diseases only after developing life-threatening
complications.
Bill Roesler, of the U of S department of biochemistry, recently received
$60,000 from the CDA for a project that could result in more effective and
safer drugs for diabetes patients.
Roesler?s research is focused on a gene expressed in the liver that has a
major role in sugar production in the body. Poor control of sugar production
eventually leads to heart, kidney, circulatory, nerve and eye damage. One
cause of high blood sugar is the overproduction of sugar in the liver.
Roesler is studying a new class of drugs that regulate sugar production. He
will also monitor the effect the drugs could have on the liver.
Jay Biem, of the U of S department of medicine, has been awarded $23,000 for
a project that could give diabetic patients better control of their blood
sugar with fewer complications and shorter hospital stays.
When patients taking medicine for Type 2 diabetes are admitted to hospital
with acute illness (ie. heart disease or infection), the associated stress
can cause poor blood sugar control. The usual diabetes medication is often
replaced with rapid-acting insulin. But long-acting and rapid-acting insulin
adjusted on a daily basis could better control sugar levels for such
patients. Biem hopes to come up with the optimal strategy for blood glucose
control.
This year the CDA awarded $5 million in Charles H. Best Research Fund
research grants across Canada.
The cause of diabetes is unknown but both genetics and environmental
factors, such as obesity and lack of exercise, appear to play a role in the
disease. There are currently two million Canadians living with diabetes.
For more information, contact:
Bill Roesler
Biochemistry
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4375 Phone
(306) 966-4390 Fax
roesler@duke.usask.ca
Jay Biem
Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-7951 Phone
(306) 966- 2383 Fax
biem@skyway.usask.ca
Kathryn Warden
Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506 Phone
(306) 966-2411 Fax
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
