This award will fund a new research study: SHEA-META - Sex-Specific Heart-Adipose Communication Driving Metabolic Dysfunction in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy.
People with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk of developing a condition called diabetic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle doesn’t work as well as it should, which can lead to heart failure.
Before menopause, women are largely protected from diabetic cardiomyopathy, yet after menopause they become more vulnerable than men and more susceptible to heart failure.
Researchers still don’t fully understand why this happens but believe changing hormone levels after the menopause may disrupt cell signals sent out by fat tissue. This may lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy and trigger damage to the heart.
Read the full story on the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics website.