Gateway pairing with Lawson researchers to study technology and diabetes
Researchers from the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont. are pairing up with the Gateway Rural Health Research Institute in Seaforth to determine if technology and exercise can help to reduce risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Decked out with Blackberry cellphones and a Bluetooth adapter which will transmit data through the Blackberry from blood pressure, heart and glucose monitors, study participants will be asked to go for a daily walk of 10,000 steps (or eight kilometres) for close to two months.
The data collected will help researchers find out if increased activity and self monitoring will turn around symptoms, such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high triglycerides before they cause diabetes.
"We're looking for people who have pre-diabetes and we'll see if we can reduce their symptoms, if this is a good way to prevent it," says Elizabeth Russell-Minda, research coordinator with the Lawson Institute.
"They're going to have all these devices, most of which are self-monitoring, while they go through a series of exercises," she says.
Between 25 and 30 people with symptoms of pre-diabetes will be sought to participate either through family doctors throughout Huron County or through self referral.
Russell-Minda says interested participants between the ages of 14 and 80 can call her at 519-685-4292 ext. 42629 to get involved.
The study will be the first by the Lawson Institute on a rural population, something made possible by the establishment of a rural health research institute by Gateway.
"One of the goals of Gateway is to establish strong relationships with other academic centres and this is our first collaboration," says Gateway's medical director Dr. Claudio Munoz.
Munoz says he is expecting many more collaborations with other research institutes and universities in the future.
"These collaborations benefit the academic centres because they're a good opportunity to train graduate students," he says.
Russell-Minda says the Lawson study will involve a kinesiology grad students and organizers are hoping to eventually create a training program for clinical kinesiology at the Gateway Institute.
The principal investigator for the DaTA study (Diabetes and Technology for increased Activity) is Dr. Robert Petrella, who, says Munoz, became very excited about studying a rural population once he learned from Munoz about the Gateway Institute.
"Almost every academic investigator I talk to gets excited about looking at research in rural communities. When I told him (Petrella) what we're building in Seaforth, he immediately realized the potential of a collaboration and he was glad we're building the infrastructure in a rural community," says Munoz.
www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com
