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Research Grant May Encourage Diabetes Testing

Updated: 2009-09-08 22:22:15 CST Category: Diabetes

by Brendan Missett

A summer research grant has allowed students to take a more active role in diabetes and kidney research.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded a two-year $320,720 grant to allow more than 20 high school and college students to assist a research team at Vanderbilt University.

The students and scientists spent the summer investigating the causes of kidney disease and failure by examining the glomerulus, the kidney's filtration system. Specifically, the team sought to determine how collagen functions in glomerular disease and to analyze the primitive collagen networks in creatures like sea anemone, sea urchins, coral, and sponges.

Dr Griffin P. Rodgers, director of the NIDDK commented, "The students who participate in this summer research program get hands-on experience in doing research in an academic setting, share in the excitement of scientific discovery and gain the satisfaction of contributing to the advancement of biomedical knowledge."

Stressing the importance of this type of research, research by the NIDDK has revealed that approximately 5.7 million people in the United States have diabetes, but have not yet been diagnosed. Diabetes is known to account for almost 45 percent of kidney failure.

The American Diabetes Association recommends the A1C diabetes test to diagnose and treat the condition.

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