Battling the Bulge and Blood Sugar

BY MATT JOHNSTON

Dr Claire Morbey, an endocrinologist with the Hunter Diabetes Centre, says Newcastle and the Hunter is a "hot-bed" for obesity and diabetes. Across the nation, 280 people are diagnosed with the disease every day.

Juggling healthy eating and a tight tummy can be a struggle at the best of times, but difficulties with blood sugar can make maintaining a slim waist almost impossible.

Dr Morbey says the new drug being trialled in the Hunter and internationally looks promising for its ability to manage insulin levels and also promote weight loss. She says it's a new treatment for people with type 2 diabetes that she hopes "will help with diabetes control, but also assist with weight loss".

"People with diabetes do find it incredibly difficult to manage the combination of looking after their blood glucose levels but also trying to lose weight, so any new medication that we can help develop, that can provide almost like a double-whammy with those two things would be fantastic."

The 6-month study involves meeting with Dr Morbey and her research team on a regular basis to monitor how the trial drug interacts with blood sugar levels, the waistline, and "various other medical parameters" to ensure the drug is effective.

 Anybody with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 18 and 65 can apply to the study, so long as they aren't already on an insulin."They can be on any other diabetes medication", and must have a BMI of 30 or more.

For more information, contact the Hunter Diabetes Centre.

http://www.hunterdiabetescentre.com.au/clinical-trials/type-2-obesity-weightloss/

National Diabetes Week

BY JESSICA ROUSE

National Diabetes Week has kicked off in the Hunter with local researchers raising awareness for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

According to new research the Hunter is the fastest growing area in Australia for Type 1 Diabetes with just over 8,000 poeple or nearly 5 per cent of the population living with diabetes, but it's also an area where groundbreaking research into diabetes prevention is underway.

The Hunter Diabetes Centre is currently undergoing a study into using a multiple sclerosis drug which has the potential to reverse Type 1 Diabetes, if it's been triggered by a virus.

Marketing and Events Manager at the Hunter Diabetes Centre Gabrielle King says there are many studies continuing at the centre in a bid to bring the diabetes numbers down.

"We're doing a wide variety of research here for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We've got a variety of clinical trials going from looking at preventing Type 1 diabetes in children so family members of people who have type 1 diabetes and then we're also looking at weight loss management in type 2 diabetes."

There are number of events happening at the centre for diabetes week as well including a Type 1 Diabetes screening day on Thursday where the public can go and see if they have the disease, particularly if they know a close family member has been diagnosed.

"We're having a range of educational events held by our diabetes educator. So we're having an exercise and medications talk so that will look at how exercise and medication can help you manage your diabetes and we'll be bringing in an exercise physiologist with our diabetes educator," said Gabrielle King.