Скачать или смотреть Diabetes and heart disease; an old concept, but an unknown mechanism - Georgia MacKenzie

Research undertaken by Georgia MacKenzie with support from Dr Regis Lamberts, Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences.
The Southern Victorian Community Trust Scholar.

A new study from the Department of Physiology is investigating ways that the heart changes in diabetes. Diabetic hearts stop responding to signals from the brain, and researchers believe this may be something to do with the nerves that connect the two.

This area is of particular importance in today’s society, where cardiovascular disease is the most significant cause of death amongst diabetic individuals worldwide. One of the ways in which cardiovascular disease can develop in such individuals is a breakdown in communication between the brain and the heart. Ultimately, this results in the heart’s inability to respond to changes in demand, leading to eventual heart failure and ultimately death.

This summer studentship aims to extend our understanding of the specific ways in which the communication between the brain and the heart is disturbed. The project will focus on the nerves connecting the two; and if changes here may be part of the disease process. Specifically, nerve fibres leading to the heart will be taken from a rat model of type 2 diabetes and their composition examined.
Ultimately, researchers hope to gain a better picture of the diabetic heart to direct future research into combating the higher burden of heart disease experienced by all diabetics.