Exploring HAAF pathways — Dr. Ilan Gabriely has been awarded $1.8 million over five years from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases. The grant will allow him to continue his investigations into the mechanisms responsible for autonomic failure after repeated episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels). Patients with type 1 diabetes are susceptible to develop this condition due to defects in hypoglycemia counterregulation. Previously, Dr. Gabriely’s team demonstrated that hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure (HAAF) could be prevented in healthy volunteers and in individuals with type 1 diabetes, by blocking their opioid receptors with naloxone. The researchers hope to determine whether a common mechanism exists between the opioid receptor pathway and the adrenergic pathway, in instances when HAAF occurs. Additionally, they will conduct a clinical trial examining the efficacy of chronic opioid receptor blockade, in preventing HAAF in patients with Type 1 diabetes. Dr. Gabriely is associate professor of medicine.
Posted on: Thursday, July 18, 2013