The VA research effort on diabetes is just as expansive as the AIDS, alcoholism, and schizophrenia programs. Co-funded by Medical Research Service and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, three centers focus on diabetes research. Investigators at these sites explore both type I and type II diabetes. Iowa This Center focuses on the effects of diabetes on the vascular system, since disorders of the vascular system are common among persons with type I or II diabetes, and stem from the blood vessels' inability to expand when necessary. Researchers use a multidisciplinary approach in order to identify potential causes of early vascular defects and design preventive or palliative therapies.
Studies involve both human and animal subjects.
Researchers aim to find strategies to reduce the side effects of intensive therapy or exercise, such as low blood sugar, to enable patients to receive and benefit from therapy without suffering adverse consequences. Here, researchers explore the basic mechanisms of insulin action in order to better understand the causes of insulin resistance. Such resistance is thought to be the major metabolic abnormality that eventually leads to type II diabetes. They are also studying the basic causes of complications of the vascular system and the kidneys in diabetic patients.