Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more

diabetes

Exercise, changes in diet alter course for pre-diabetics

The D-CLIP Study staff in Chennai, India

A type 2 diabetes intervention program developed by researchers from Emory and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) in India is showing promising results in improving risk factors, such as lowering weight and decreasing blood pressure and glucose levels.

The ongoing study, called the Diabetes Community Life Improvement Program, (D-CLIP) was designed to test the benefits of a low-cost community program for people at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, most commonly associated with obesity. The curriculum integrates exercise, nutrition education and dietary changes. The study is being conducted in Chennai, India with hopes of expanding the program into other parts of South Asia.

Six-hundred participants with prediabetes were randomly assigned to either a standard of care control treatment or weekly D-CLIP classes for six months, where they learned about making healthy choices in real life situations such as restaurants and grocery stores. They also learned how to incorporate exercise into their daily routines with the goal of completing 150 minutes of physical activity a week at any local fitness center.

Of the 200 participants who have completed the course to date, 83 percent have lost between five and 13 pounds. There also was improvement in blood glucose, serum cholesterol and blood pressure levels in participants.

This initial research is quite encouraging because it shows we can turn the tide of type 2 diabetes onset by promoting simple lifestyle changes through well-structured community programming says Venkat Narayan, MD, Hubert Professor in Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and a professor in Emory School of Medicine. Attendance at the lifestyle classes is 85 to 90 percent, with lifestyle changes strongly evident. More than anything, we have formed strong partnerships with the local community that will ultimately lead to the implementation of more successful programs like this. When it comes to completing your active ensemble, don’t forget to pair them with the right leggings from https://uk.ryderwear.com/collections/womens-leggings for ultimate comfort and flexibility during your workouts.

The study is conducted by the Global Diabetes Research Center, a collaboration between Emory University and MDRF in Chennai, India. The center received its initial support from the Emory Global Health Institute, with funding from BRiDGES (Bringing Research in Diabetes to Global Environments and Systems), an International Diabetes Federation program supported by an educational grant from Eli Lily. Currently, the 17th session of D-CLIP classes is in progress, with the study set to close in early 2013.

Participants in the D-CLIP study learned to incorporate exercise into their lives to stave off type 2 diabetes.

We have always known that the right diet and exercise can improve health, says V. Mohan, MD, president of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. But there has been no scientific community-based program to quantify this until now. We hope this is just the beginning of efforts to reduce the incidence of the type 2 diabetes epidemic worldwide.

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Challenges in islet transplantation

Two recent research papers from the Emory Transplant Center describe research on pancreatic islet transplantation, an experimental procedure that could help people with type I diabetes live without daily insulin injections.

Islet transplantation may offer people with type I diabetes the ability to produce their own insulin again

As with other types of transplantation, the challenge with islet transplantation is to avoid rejection of the donated organ and to balance that goal against side effects from the drugs needed to control the immune system. These papers illustrate how that balancing act is especially complex.

In the last decade, transplant specialists developed a method for islet transplantation named the “Edmonton protocol” after pioneers at the University of Alberta. While the emergence of this method was a major step forward, there are limitations:

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Number of diabetic Americans could triple by 2050

As many as 1 in 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050, federal officials recently announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 1 in 10 have diabetes now – approximately 24 million Americans – but that number could grow to 1 in 5 or even 1 in 3 by mid-century if current trends continue.

The report was published in the Oct. 22 issue of Population Health Metrics. Edward Gregg, Emory adjunct professor of global health, and David Williamson, Emory visiting professor of global health, were co-authors.

The CDC’s projections have been a work in progress. The last revision put the number at 39 million in 2050. The new estimate takes it to the range of 76 million to 100 million.

The growth in U.S. diabetes cases has been closely tied to escalating obesity rates. A corresponding rise in diabetes has even prompted researchers to coin a new hybrid term: diabesity.

“There is an epidemic going on that, if left unchecked, will have a huge effect on the U.S. population and on health care costs,” says K. M. Venkat Narayan, MD, MSc, MBA, professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, who came to Emory from the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “The numbers are very worrying.”

K. M. Venkat Narayan, MD, MSc, MBA

Narayan also heads the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, which aims to find solutions to the growing global diabetes epidemic. The Center serves as the research leader and hub for population-based research and large intervention trials throughout South Asia and globally.

“Whatever we do, the fruits of our research have to be available to people everywhere,” says Narayan.

Read more about Dr. Narayan’s global efforts and diabetes research underway at Emory.

Hear Dr. Narayan talk about the Global Diabetes Research Center.

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New Emory center expands diabetes prevention

According to the CDC, an estimated 23.6 million Americans live with diabetes. The Diabetes Training and Technical Assistance Center (DTTAC), based at the Rollins School of Public Health, aims to reduce the burden of the disease.

Established with a $2 million grant from the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, DTTAC is modeled after the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium. Both programs provide training, expertise, and materials to state public health departments to strengthen leadership, organizational capacity, and partnerships in prevention and control. DTTAC also works with the National Diabetes Prevention Program, the framework for community-based lifestyle intervention to prevent type-2 diabetes among those at high risk of the disease.

“We need to act with urgency to reach individuals and their families early if we are to prevent and reduce suffering from diabetes,” says Linelle Blais, DTTAC director and associate research professor at Rollins. “By developing services that build capacity, our goal is to better equip local, state, and national partners to deliver evidence-based community interventions and effective diabetes programs.”

Linelle Blais, DTTAC director

DTTAC is helping spearhead the national rollout of a lifestyle intervention program modeled on research from the NIH’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) clinical trial. The program seeks to prevent diabetes by helping participants adopt healthy lifestyle habits such as being physically active at least 150 minutes per week and losing 7 percent of their body weight. In the DPP clinical trial, participants who made these changes saw their diabetes risk drop by 58 percent.

The success of diabetes prevention programs at Indiana University, the University of Pittsburgh, and YMCAs around the country will also shape DTTAC training. Experts regard these examples as cost-effective models.

Read more about DTTAC in the fall 2010 issue of Public Health magazine.

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Pig stem cells: hope for Type 1 diabetes treatment

University of Georgia researchers recently reported on their work to create pigs with induced pluripotent stem cells. This type of cell, first developed about five years ago, has the ability to turn into any other kind of cell in the body.

An Emory transplant team, working with the UGA group, hopes to use this technology to develop pig islet cells as an alternative to human islets to treat patients with Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs early in life and affects more than one million Americans who are unable to manufacture their own insulin because their pancreatic islets do not function.

Emory islet transplant team

The Emory Transplant Center has conducted clinical trials since 2003 transplanting human pancreatic islet cells into patients with Type I diabetes. Some of these patients have been able to give up insulin injections, either temporarily or permanently. Other sources of islets are needed for transplant though because of the large number of potential patients and because each transplant typically requires islets from several pancreases.

To create pigs using pluripotent stem cells, the UGA team injected new genes into pig bone marrow cells to reprogram the cells into functioning like embryonic stem cells. The resulting pluripotent cells were inserted into blastocysts (developing embryos), and the embryos were implanted into surrogate mothers. The resulting pigs had cells from the stem cell lines as well as the embryo donor in multiple tissue types.

The pluripotent stem cell process could allow researchers to make genetic changes to dampen or potentially eliminate the rejection of the pig islets by the human immune system.

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Chronic diseases drive up Medicare costs, study shows

A new study by Emory University public health researchers finds that outpatient treatment for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease are to blame for the recent rise in Medicare spending. Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, chair, Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, presented study findings today at a briefing of the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The report, “Chronic Conditions Account for Rise in Medicare Spending from 1987 to 2006,” was published Feb. 18 by the journal Health Affairs.

Kenneth E. Thorpe, PhD

Thorpe and colleagues analyzed data about disease prevalence and about level of and change in spending on the 10 most expensive conditions in the Medicare population from 1987, 1997 and 2006.

Among key study findings:

  • Heart disease ranked first in terms of share of growth from 1987 to 1997.  However, from 1997 to 2006, heart disease fell to 10th, while other medical conditions – diabetes the most prevalent – accounted for a significant portion of the rise.
  • Increased spending on diabetes and some other conditions results from rising incidence of these diseases, not increased screening and diagnoses.

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Managing heart disease and diabetes in South Asia

Illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease are affecting increasing numbers of young people in developing countries. In light of this worrisome trend, K. M. Venkat Narayan, MD, and his colleagues are launching a new center of excellence aimed at preventing and controlling heart disease and diabetes in India and Pakistan.

K.M. Venkat Narayan, MD

K.M. Venkat Narayan, MD

It’s essentially a center of excellence for cardiac metabolic disease prevention and control in South Asia with Emory playing a very important role in the project, says Narayan, professor of global health and epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and professor of medicine in Emory School of Medicine.

The primary partner of this grant will be the public health foundation of India, New Delhi. Emory is the developed country academic partner working with other network partners, namely, the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai, India and the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.

The center will focus on surveillance, prevention of mortality stemming from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and training young investigators in the field of diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention and control.

It’s estimated that by 2030, the number of people with diabetes will reach 400 million worldwide, double today’s number, says Narayan. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death among people with diabetes with 80 percent of deaths from chronic diseases worldwide occurring in low and middle-income countries.

What is particularly worrying about developing countries is that diseases like diabetes are hitting younger people, says Narayan. The implications, he says, are young people who would otherwise be economically productive must leave the labor market. In addition, in India, one person having diabetes uses 25 percent of the family’s income just for his own treatment. The economic impact and the health impact are enormous, says Narayan. Read more in Emory Public Health magazine.

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Childhood cancer treatment may raise diabetes risk

Cancer survivors who got radiation treatments as children have nearly twice the risk of developing diabetes as adults. That’s according to a study led by Emory and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta pediatric oncologist Lillian R. Meacham, MD.

Lillian Meacham, MD

Lillian Meacham, MD

The study, published in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, compared rates of diabetes in nearly 8,600 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed between 1970 and 1986, and nearly 3,000 of their siblings who did not have cancer.

Children who were treated with total body radiation or abdominal radiation to fight off cancer appear to have higher diabetes risks later in life, regardless of whether they exercise regularly or maintain a normal weight.

After adjusting for other risk factors, including body mass index – a ratio of height and weight – Meacham and team found that childhood cancer survivors overall were 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes.

And the more radiation that was used, the greater the diabetes risk. For those treated with total body radiation — a treatment often used before bone marrow transplants to treat childhood leukemia — the diabetes risk was more than seven times greater.

More study is needed to understand how radiation could promote diabetes in cancer survivors, notes Meacham.

She says it is imperative that clinicians recognize this risk, screen for diabetes and pre-diabetes when appropriate, and approach survivors with aggressive risk-reducing strategies.

Meacham is a professor of pediatrics in the Emory School of Medicine and medical director of the Cancer Survivor Program with the AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Services, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

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Diabetes and heart disease: Not just a Western problem

As more and more people around the globe embrace the more unhealthy aspects of the Western diet and lifestyle, more and more people around the globe are developing diet- and lifestyle-related illnesses, like diabetes and heart disease. In heavily populated areas like South Asia, this means millions of new cases, including millions of young people. In light of this worrisome trend, Emory’s Dr. K. M. Venkat Narayan and his colleagues are launching a new center of excellence aimed at preventing and controlling heart disease and diabetes in India and Pakistan.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Emory University and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) a $3 million, five-year contract to establish a Global Center of Excellence for Prevention and Control of Cardiometabolic Diseases in South Asia.

Crowd in India

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Reaching out to Latinos

Diabetes is running rampant among the U.S. and one of the groups most affected is Latinos. Factors such as lack of English skills and cultural rules keep many Cheap Oakleys Latinos from  recognizing diabetes as a problem and seeking treatment.

Dr. Guillermo E. Umpierrez of Emory University is working to change that. Not only does he work daily at the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, but he recently spearheaded production an educational video aimed at the Latino population. Titled “Viva mas y major… con su diabetes bajo control” (“Live longer and better… with your diabetes under control,” the video is aimed at empowering patients to live their healthiest by controlling their diabetes. The vidoe was video produced by the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program (ELDEP).

The 30-minute video is available online in five parts. Part one is below. The other segments are viewable on the Woodruff Health Sciences web site and on YouTube.

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