Photo opportunity 10.50am, Friday 13 September, West Park Conference Centre, Perth Road, Dundee.
A discovery made at the University of Dundee in the 1980s has acquired such potential for new treatments for Type 2 diabetes and obesity that 160 medical scientists are gathering in Dundee this week for a two-day conference entirely devoted to it. AMPK is a protein which monitors energy levels in cells and which has become a target for development of new drugs. These drugs would work by making muscles "think" they were exercising even when they were not, hence causing excess sugar and fats to be "burnt off".
Organiser of the conference Professor Grahame Hardie explains: "There is now a real possibility of developing new drugs that would switch on the AMPK system artificially - something that occurs naturally during exercise. In fact the drug that is currently most widely used to treat Type 2 diabetes (metformin) may work this way."
The "AMPK 2002"conference will welcome delegates from 17 different countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea and South Africa. The interest in development of new and better drugs is reflected in the fact that representatives of no less than 15 different pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will attend the conference.
The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a protein complex present in every one of the billions of cells in the human body. It was first defined by work at the University of Dundee by the conference co-organisers, Professor Grahame Hardie and Dr David Carling. It monitors the energy level of each cell and responds appropriately if energy becomes depleted. This happens in muscles during exercise. AMPK is responsible for extra sugar and fats being taken up from the blood and "burnt off" by the muscle cells to provide the energy for continued exercise.
The incidence of Type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by a high blood sugar, is reaching epidemic proportions world-wide, with current projections of 200 million people suffering from the condition by 2010. Although not life threatening in the short term, it causes long-term complications (heart disease, blindness, and nerve, kidney and foot problems) that are very debilitating and expensive to treat. Type 2 diabetes is also strongly linked with obesity. People who become overweight while they are young are much more likely to develop diabetes in later life. Alarmingly, the proportion of the UK population who are overweight has doubled since 1980.
This epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and obesity is thought to be due to the modern "couch potato" lifestyle, involving insufficient exercise and frequent consumption of sugary or fatty foods. The AMPK system may be involved in control of body weight, and can also explain why regular exercise provides protection against development of obesity and diabetes. Professor Hardie says: "Although regular exercise and sensible eating remains the best policy for everyone, Type 2 diabetes often occurs in older people who may be unable to take exercise because of other medical problems.
The conference starts at the University of Dundee's West Park Conference centre on Friday 13 September.
Contact Professor Grahame Hardie (01382 344253 or d.g.hardie@dundee.ac.uk).
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk