Glucose clamp used to test how a low-energy diet can improve insulin sensitivity
Tests on South Asian population have trialled a new technique that could benefit people living with type 2 diabetes
Researchers have trialled the “glucose clamp technique” in an effort to determine how effective a low-energy diet is in improving insulin sensitivity in a South Asian population.
The gold-standard technique measures how sensitive a person is to the hormone insulin, with researchers at Leicester Diabetes Centre hailing the beginning of their COMBINE trial a “success”.
Research participant, Hanif, during the glucose clamp with Clinical Research Fellow, Dr Vaios Koutroukas and Dietitian, Frank Arsenyadis at Leicester Diabetes Centre
Researchers will also be looking to see if blood glucose control is improved during the 12-week trial.
Dietitian, Frank Arsenyadis, with funding from the Wellcome Trust (Leicestershire Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Doctoral Training Programme), is leading the COMBINE trial that aims to see whether combining structured exercise and a high protein, low energy diet can minimise muscle loss while attempting to reverse type 2 diabetes.
Dr Gráinne Whelehan, Research Assistant for Leicester Diabetes Centre, said: “In type 2 diabetes we see high blood glucose levels in the body which is often due to a resistance to insulin. Insulin acts to lower blood sugar concentrations. The glucose clamp technique is a way to accurately measure how resistant the body is to insulin. To do this, we give a fixed rate of insulin to the body and then see how much glucose we need to give the patient to maintain or “clamp” the glucose at a steady level.
"The amount of glucose required to maintain stable blood sugar levels during the insulin infusion will tell us exactly how sensitive that person is to insulin. The more glucose we need to give the participant to keep the glucose stable, the less insulin resistant they are.”
Pratik Choudhary, Professor of Diabetes for Leicester Diabetes Centre, said: “Being able to use innovative techniques like the glucose clamp in our research is instrumental in developing a deeper understanding of how interventions like low energy diets or exercise affect insulin sensitivity and resistance, providing vital insights that will shape the future of diabetes management.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) funded COMBINE trial is still looking for volunteers.
Trial participants will be from the South Asian community, living with type 2 diabetes, aged between 40 – 65 years and have a body mass index (BMI) between 27 and 45.
More information about the COMBINE trial here
Read more about type 2 diabetes
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