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£69,000 awarded for diabetes research

03.06.2005

The University of Brighton has been awarded £69,000 by Diabetes UK and the National Kidney Research Fund. The research will investigate why nearly 25-50% of diabetics will suffer kidney failure due to high levels of blood glucose, and will require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

In the UK around 1.8 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes - the condition where the pancreas cannot produce insulin or the insulin produced does not work properly. Diabetes can cause changes in small blood vessels, which leads to damage of the kidneys and this damage can result in severe kidney failure. Keeping blood glucose levels as near normal as possible can greatly reduce the risk of kidney disease developing.

Dr P.K. (Charley) Chatterjee from the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences commented:

"We are hopeful that, in the future, the findings from our study will make a real difference to the lives of people with diabetes and will lead to the development of new treatments to prevent kidney failure."

A spokesperson for Diabetes UK said:

"Kidney failure is one of the major complications of diabetes. Approximately 1,000 people in the UK go onto dialysis each year because of their diabetes. It's extremely important that we fund research in this area. We will look forward to hearing the results from the University of Brighton."

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Notes to editors
  1. The National Kidney Research Fund was set up in the 1960s by the Renal Association to raise money to fund research into kidney disease. Today the Fund is the leading UK charity funding research that focuses on the prevention, treatment and management of kidney disease. During the past 40 years, the Fund has worked with world-class scientific researchers and clinicians to help bring about, significant scientific breakthroughs.
  2. In the UK today, up to 2.5 million people have chronic kidney disease, but most people do not have any symptoms. Currently, over 180,000 people are undergoing treatment for kidney disease, 19,000 of who are on dialysis.


Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022