Fermanagh expert warns of diabetes explosion

Brian Donaldson • Published 5 Nov 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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Diabetes on the increase in the west

A Fermanagh scientist, at the forefront of pioneering work into diabetes therapy, says there is a risk of a major global increase in diabetes incidence over the next 15 years unless people adopt a different lifestyle.

Professor Finbarr O'Harte, who is Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, is actively involved in research work focusing largely on the development of novel peptide hormone analogues for diabetes therapy.

Over the last number of years, Professor O'Harte has published his research findings in a wide range of prestigious scientific journals and has secured a portfolio of patents related to his research.

He helped to establish a diabetes research network, the "Irish North Western Alliance for Research into Diabetes(INWARD) which includes input from NUI Galway, Western Health Trust and regional hospitals in the west of Ulster and Connaught. The official launch of this took place this week.

Professor O'Harte, who grew up at Killard, Newtownbutler, alluded to some of his work when he visited his former school, St. Michael's College, Enniskillen, as guest speaker at prize day.

In an interview with The Impartial Reporter, Professor O'Harte said his work centred on identifying naturally occurring hormones and making them more stable by modifying them and then using them as a therapy for diabetic sufferers.

In 2004, Professor O'Harte and two of his academic colleagues co-founded a university spin-out company, Diabetica Ltd. to help develop new drug therapies for diabetes. They signed a worldwide licensing agreement with a major American company, Amylin Pharaceuticials in San Diego, California which raised capital to allow the scientists at Coleraine continue with their groundbreaking research.

He says action is needed urgently to curtail the increase of diabetes set to continue over the next number of years. The World Health Organisation has estimated that around 360 million people worldwide will suffer from diabetes by 2025 - that's an increase of some 80 per cent at present.

One of the regions of the world most at risk is the United States but generally people on a westernised diet are at risk especially from Type 2 diabetes where factors such as diet, and exercise are important.

Professor O'Harte works with diabetic patients as well as many of the diabetic support groups across Northern Ireland and beyond in a bid to halt the increase of the condition. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body is unable to produce any of the hormone, insulin, which is needed to help glucose enter the cells to provide energy for the body while Type 2 diabetes does make some insulin but not enough or where it does not work properly known as insulin resistance and is often linked to overweight people. The raised blood glucose concentration known as hyperglycaemia, can, over a prolonged period of time, result in serious complications in diabetes such as problems with blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes and other vascular disease, says Professor O'Harte.

Professor O'Harte's work has been largely confined to peptide hormones and how they are used within the body. A lot of his work is in research, usually with the help of PhD students. He also lecturers courses at the University and presents scientific papers on the subject to a range of organisations involved in the field of diabetes such as the Irish Endocrine Society or in recent years, an international conference in Vienna. He attends many of Diabetes UK's annual conferences often as a speaker.

He says that current diabetes drug therapy focuses on either improving insulin secretion or improving insulin action but research has shown that after food intake, the intestine naturally produces peptides that stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas. Professor O'Harte's work has centred on these peptides.

While Professor O'Harte says he is at the "basic science end" of the spectrum, he is nevertheless an important link in the chain which is striving to make life much easier for diabetes sufferers.

He says while people cannot change their genetic make-up which might make them more susceptible to diabetes, the incidence of diabetes is increasing generally by environmental factors, such as a lack of exercise, wrong diet, excess weight and obesity, central obesity which is increasing their waist circumference and the fact that people are living longer. Obesity and excess body weight are risk factors for the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Professor O'Harte, who has many relatives in Fermanagh, is married to Attracta, formerly a member of the Donegan family from Newtownbutler and who was a teacher at St. Michael's College, and they have two children, Cariosa aged 11 and Oisin aged 9. They reside at Portstewart.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 05 Nov 09

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