Diabetes research
We conduct experimental and clinical diabetes research. Our aim is to develop new treatments and drugs that can prevent or cure diabetes, which affects more than half a billion people worldwide.
It is estimated that nearly 600 million adults worldwide have diabetes. This number is expected to rise to more than 850 million by 2050.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and accounts for the largest increase. It is not yet fully known what causes type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Several research areas working together
Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC) conducts extensive and multifaceted research in several areas. Researchers conduct experimental basic research in modern laboratories, study people's lifestyles, and conduct clinical trials involving individuals with diabetes.
The overall aim is to personalise therapy to provide patients with the right treatments at the right time. The long-term goal is to prevent and cure diabetes as well as improve the treatment of the disease and its complications.
Among other things, the researchers study:
- classification of patient groups with diabetes for individualised treatments
- how environmental and lifestyle factors influence the development of type 2 diabetes (epigenetics)
- how heritability, the fetal environment and birth weight affect the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- mechanisms that affect insulin secretion in diabetes
- autoantibodies used to identify type 1 diabetes
- ways to prevent common complications such as cardiovascular disease and develop new treatments for diabetes
- individualised dietary recommendations to reduce the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes
- the role of eating habits on health in people with and without diabetes.
State-of-the-art research facilities
At LUDC, there is a cutting-edge laboratory where researchers collect cells, tissues, blood samples, and gut microbiota samples from people with and without diabetes. This laboratory enables researchers to conduct experimental and clinical studies into the disease mechanisms associated with diabetes.
Moreover, LUDC houses a biobank containing plaques from people with atherosclerosis, a common complication of diabetes, which researchers are studying.
Application areas
Researchers at LUDC are working closely with Skåne University Hospital, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders to find new treatments and drugs to prevent, delay and cure diabetes. Some examples:
At Lund University, diabetes researchers have shown that individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes can be stratified into five subgroups with differing disease progression. This important discovery could lead to more individualised treatments of the disease. The researchers have also identified genetic differences between the four groups of type 2 diabetes, indicating different underlying causes of the disease.
The researchers aim is to use this genetic and clinical data to develop treatments that are tailored to each patient. The discovery is a significant step forward that can lead to improvements for people living with diabetes.
Epigenetics and genetics help illustrate how diabetes care can be individualised – ludc.lu.se
At Lund University, the researchers carry out studies within precision medicine and diabetes. The aim with precision medicine is to develop individualised treatments that are more accurate.
The researchers also participate in major collaborations that summarise opportunities and gaps for the translation of precision medicine in clinical practice.
Researchers at Lund University have led the work on international consensus reports that have identified opportunities and challenges within precision medicine and developed guidelines that may increase the clinical relevance of precision medicine research.
Our researchers are also contributing knowledge to a new centre within precision medicine in southern Sweden, which has been established through a collaboration between Lund University and Region Skåne.
An important aim of the new centre is to translate precision medicine research within diabetes and cardiovascular disease into clinical practice so that more patients can benefit from new diagnostic tools and treatment options.
Researchers around the world strive to understand why some people develop type 1 diabetes and others do not. At Lund University, diabetes researchers are continuously studying various diabetes-related autoantibodies in children with a high risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
This research has led to the approval of these autoantibodies as a biomarker for the disease. This approval means that individuals who have at least two diabetes-related autoantibodies can participate in clinical studies designed to prevent the disease.
Diabetes-related autoantibodies can also be used as a marker to screen for type 1 diabetes. Researchers at Lund University have developed a method that has become an international standard method to detect who is at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. New methods have also emerged and researchers at Lund University conduct studies that evaluate different screening methods. Such knowledge can be used to implement national screening programmes within the healthcare system.
Blood testing in children leads to better understanding of type 1 diabetes
New method allows for large-scale screening for autoimmune diseases
Several research groups at Lund University are working together to study the mechanisms behind diabetes. An important resource for diabetes research is a sample collection of pancreatic islets of Langerhans, which contain insulin and glucagon-producing cells from people both with and without diabetes. Researchers study the islet cells to understand what happens to insulin and glucagon secretion in diabetes. The sample collection also includes tissues from liver, muscles and fat that are of interest to diabetes researchers. Studies of the collection can lead to new treatments that improve insulin secretion and glucose uptake in people with diabetes.
Diabetes can lead to complications such as stroke, heart attack and kidney disease.
Researchers are studying various aspects, including epigenetic differences between various groups of people with type 2 diabetes, to try to predict the risk of these complications at an early stage.
People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing atherosclerotic plaques, which means that fat has been accumulating on the inside of the arteries. Plaques that rupture can lead to the formation of blood clots, which can cause heart attacks or stroke. Researchers are therefore examining the underlying mechanisms behind the formation of plaques and why they rupture, with the aim to develop treatments that can prevent plaque rupture.
Research environments
Strategic research area
A significant part of diabetes research at Lund University is conducted within EXODIAB, which is a strategic research area (SRA) in Sweden.
Within EXODIAB, Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC) and Uppsala University work closely together. Their shared ambition is to develop new treatments and drugs that can prevent or cure diabetes.
Coordinator
Allan Vaag, professor
allan [dot] vaag [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (allan[dot]vaag[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)
Vice coordinator
Lena Eliasson, professor
Phone: +46(0)40 39 1153
Mobile: +46(0)70 522 5414
lena [dot] eliasson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (lena[dot]eliasson[at]med[dot]lu[dot]se)
Website
Research database
Related researchers, projects and publications.
Latest news in diabetes research
Type 1 diabetes increased among young people during the pandemic
