World Diabetes Day 2021
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Today we observe World Diabetes Day, an initiative carried out annually by the International Diabetes Federation.
This year this anniversary is particularly significant because it also commemorates the centenary of the discovery and isolation of insulin by MacLeod, Banning, Best and Collip in 1921, a fundamental milestone in the treatment of patients with diabetes. It is increasingly important to link clinical research to fundamental science, which describes the mechanisms that then lead to the great discoveries essential to improving the quality of life of patients.
So this year we present two groups linked to fundamental research working in the field of diabetes. The first is Hugo Vicente Miranda, and his lab DysBrainD, recently awarded the National Diabetology Prize by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia to develop research work that aims to make the connection between diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
Next, we present the investigation by Ana Raimundo and Regina Menezes, from the Molecular Nutrition and Health laboratory of Cláudia Santos, who are studying the therapeutic potential of polyphenol metabolites originating in the diet as a possible strategy to fight diabetes.
Read the #SciComm feature written by the researche
We observe World Diabetes Day 2021, even more relevant in the Year of the 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of Insulin. In diabetes, as in all areas of knowledge, the best results are obtained when there are intersections between different disciplinary areas, such as when clinical research and fundamental research become allies to reach a better therapeutic solution for the patient. This is just one extremely important example of how the symbiosis between fundamental science and medical advances has been and will be paramount to the well-being of millions of individuals affected by diabetes.
With this in mind, scientists at CEDOC and research centers around the world, work tirelessly to advance knowledge and treatment of what is revealed to be the epidemic of modern times. At the Molecular Nutrition and Health Laboratory, coordinated by Dr. Cláudia Nunes dos Santos, Dr. Regina Menezes' team aims to articulate all the knowledge accumulated in recent years on the pathogenic aggregation of proteins in the context of diabetes and the therapeutic potential of polyphenol metabolites originated in the diet as a possible strategy to fight diabetes.
More specifically, studies carried out at CEDOC indicate that the accumulation of partially processed intermediates of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP or amylin) contribute to the aggregation and gain of cytotoxic function of this hormone, with implications for the death of insulin-producing cells. The loss of physiological function of the IAPP, as well as the formation of these aggregates, is also associated with brain pathology, contributing to the formation of amyloid plaques observed in Alzheimer's disease. Together with national and international partners, fundamental tests are being carried out for the development of lead compounds that, it is hoped, can contribute to a better management and prevention of diabetes and associated pathologies.
Ana Filipa Raimundo, Cláudia Santos e Regina Menezes
Also, don't forget to visit the exhibition "A Visit to the History of Diabetes", as part of the 100 Years of Insulin, until 23 November in the cloisters of the NOVA Medical School.
