[PHNUTR-L] Curry colouring and fat mix could help diabetics

[Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD]

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Public release date: 12-Apr-2006
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-04/ra-cca041206.php

Contact: Miguel Holland
61-73-365-2619
Research Australia

Curry colouring and fat mix could help diabetics

Brisbane immunologist Dr Brendan O'Sullivan hopes to put a dent in 
skyrocketing rates of diabetes in Australia by creating a new treatment 
for Type 2 diabetes.

The Senior Research Officer and his team at UQ's Centre for Immunology 
and Cancer Research (CICR) are developing a drug that targets liver 
cells to prevent their inflammation in obesity -- a common precursor to 
diabetes.

Dr O'Sullivan has received a three-year $150,000 Smart State Fellowship 
from the State Government to explore potential diabetes treatments.

Arthritis Queensland and the CICR will also contribute a further 
$150,000 each during the project.

People with Type 2 diabetes cannot produce enough insulin or do not use 
the insulin they produce properly.

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which moves sugar from the 
food we eat into the body's cells.

Dr O'Sullivan said his technique involved coating treatment drugs in 
absorbable fat which formed an injectable dose that could last up to one 
week.

"One of the drugs we're using is curcumin, which is basically the yellow 
compound that you see in curries, which is an anti-inflammatory 
compound," Dr O'Sullivan said.

"The idea is to encapsulate that compound and then deliver it to the 
liver cells to prevent them from producing all these inflammatory 
compounds."

Early results show his method works in mice but he said his grant would 
validate the best method to use in human trials.

The 36-year-old from Kedron said that, if successful, the treatment 
could combat other diseases such as heart disease, osteoarthritis, 
rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, an autoimmune disease against the skin.

His Fellowship will pay for staff, lab and research work.

UQ's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor David Siddle said Dr 
O'Sullivan's project was one of many leading-edge CICR projects.

"Our determined immunologists are tackling some of society's worst 
diseases with great science," Professor Siddle said.
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
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