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DCU Diabetes screening

DCU is currently being represented at the "Research in Action" exhibition at European Union House, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, with its participation in the DEXLIFE project (www.dexlife.eu). The event was launched last week by the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, and a VO2max fitness test was demonstrated at the DEXLIFE stand.

DEXLIFE is an EU-funded (FP7) project investigating new ways to detect & prevent type 2 diabetes, with partners in Ireland (DCU, VHI Healthcare Ireland and Pintail Ltd.), Europe and the USA. As part of this, Dr. Donal O'Gorman from the School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University (DCU), is running a diet and exercise intervention in DCU to investigate if novel markers in blood and muscle that predict the development of type 2 diabetes respond to lifestyle changes.

At present it is estimated that 330 million people worldwide live with type 2 diabetes and that the number will double over the next 20 years. The costs of type 2 diabetes are already huge, approaching 10% of all health costs. Type 2 diabetes results from the body's ineffective use of insulin. Type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world, and is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity. Up to 50% of people with Type 2 Diabetes may be unaware of it. Symptoms are often mild and as a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after onset, once complications have already arisen.

As many people do not know if they are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a series of questionnaire based screening events will be held on campus over the next few weeks. eloping countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. GeSCI has been primarily funded by the governments of Finland, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland.

For further information please contact Declan O'Hanlon declan.ohanlon@dcu.ie or Aileen Kennedy aileen.m.kennedy@dcu.ie or 01-700-8880 Follow Dexlife DCU on Facebook and Twitter Website: www.dexlife.eu