After winning a prestigious Diabetes Australia Research Grant, a Curtin research team led by Associate Professor Ryu Takechi will study a new way to prevent cognitive decline and dementia for people with diabetes.

They’ll explore how Type 2 diabetes and a genetic variant, known as apoE4, come together to accelerate brain dysfunction, and if two oral medicines can block this.

The key concerns brought up by the community are keeping memory and independence, having earlier warning signs and access to more simple, affordable treatments. To address this, the project is working to develop a practical blood test and testing two oral therapies that is easy to access in routine diabetes care.

This could ultimately shift dementia care from reactive to a proactive treatment and potential reduce inequities, particularly for regional, culturally diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Takechi, the research team, Diabetes Australia and everyone involved in this project.

Read more in our media release here.