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Christian Messa American Diabetes Association contributes
$300,000 to diabetes/obesity research GALVESTON, Texas — The American Diabetes Association recently awarded $300,000 to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to support diabetes research that explores the relationship between the disease and obesity. Dr. Mandeep Bajaj, a UTMB associate professor of endocrinology and director of UTMB’s Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Diabetes Center, is the recipient of the ADA clinical research award. Bajaj will use the ADA funding to investigate adiponectin — a protein produced by fat cells that improves insulin action in muscles — and how its production is diminished in obese people and those with type 2 diabetes. This variation of diabetes is an incurable but treatable condition that prevents the body from properly using insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. The ADA reports that almost 21 million people in the United States, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes. According to the Texas Diabetes Council, an estimated 1.3 million adults in the state have been diagnosed with the disease. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in Texas, contributing to more than 17,000 deaths in 2002. While its cause is still unknown, researchers have found that genetics and environmental factors such as sedentary lifestyles play significant roles. Bajaj’s study, which will be among the first to examine the mechanisms of adiponectin action in humans, will seek to understand how adiponectin receptors in skeletal muscle actually function. The receptors play crucial roles in controlling the insulin-sensitizing effects of adiponectin on skeletal muscles and have not been thoroughly studied in people with diabetes. Bajaj will also investigate the effects of exercise and certain medications on adiponectin action, which may lead to new diabetes treatments. Bajaj said he looks forward to revealing the laboratory results made possible by the three-year ADA grant. “This generous contribution by the American Diabetes Association will support key research that my laboratory is engaged in,” said Bajaj, who became interested in diabetes by observing his father’s laboratory research of the disease. “These studies will go a long way toward answering crucially important questions we have for type 2 diabetes treatment.” Dr. Randall J. Urban, chair of UTMB’s Department of Internal Medicine, said the ADA has been a staunch supporter of diabetes research at the academic health center. “We’re fortunate to have the ADA as a solid partner in our investigations of this debilitating disease,” said Urban, the Edward Randall and Edward Randall Jr. Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine and executive director of the Stark Diabetes Center. “We congratulate Dr. Bajaj for securing this significant funding from the association and eagerly await the results of his investigation.” The country’s leading nonprofit health organization dedicated to diabetes advocacy, research and information, the ADA gave $40 million to diabetes research last year. UTMB researchers have received approximately $956,000 from the ADA since their first grant from the association in 1992. UTMB
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