WebsEdge/Health

Saving Lives in Singapore, where Diabetic Kidney Disease rates are the Highest in the World. Diabetes is a major public health problem in Singapore, with among the highest incidence of end-stage kidney disease caused by diabetes of any country in the world. Despite the substantial burden of diabetic kidney disease in Singapore and around the world, relatively little is known about its root causes. To improve the research and change the outcomes for these many patients a group of investigators came together to form DYNAMO. DYNAMO, or the Diabetes study of Nephropathy And other Microvascular Complications (DYNAMO) is funded by the Singapore National Medical Research Council. The project aims to determine the genes and processes involved in the development of kidney disease due to diabetes, so that diabetic patients at risk can be identified and treated earlier. DYNAMO also aims to identify and validate new potential treatments for kidney complications from diabetes. With a high concentration of world-class research and infrastructure for diabetes and kidney disease, Singapore is the perfect place to conduct this study. DYNAMO brings together 70 investigators from 6 countries, from institutions including Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore National Eye Centre and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore, as well as Duke University, Johns Hopkins, University College of London and Lund University, providing a truly global perspective on the issue. With its high diabetes prevalence, there are over 30,000 individuals recruited to diabetic cohorts being studied in Singapore. DYNAMO plans to analyse DNA sequences and biological samples collected from many of these patients to devise new ways to identify and treat Diabetic Kidney Disease. At the same time, the basic mechanisms of Diabetic Kidney Disease will be investigated using mouse models. Researchers are also investigating the effect of diabetes on VEGF-A signalling – vital on the formation of new blood vessels - in the kidney. Through better understanding of the disease, researchers hope to create biomarkers and predictive models to better understand and manage patient outcomes. Diabetes also has effects beyond the kidney. The DYNAMO research team will be investigating similarities between the eye and the kidney in collaboration with the Singapore National Eye Centre. This could provide a non-invasive method to identify diabetic patients at risk of developing diabetic complications in both the eyes and kidneys. DYNAMO takes advantage of world-class expertise in research on diabetes and its complications here in Singapore as well as the rest of the world, with the ultimate aim to expand our knowledge of kidney complications caused by diabetes and usher in the next generation of treatments and prevention strategies.