Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have been awarded a €6 million (NZ$10.85 million) European Union (Horizon 2020) grant for a collaborative study to determine how the retina can be used to identify and predict cognitive impairment and dementia in people with type 2 diabetes. 

It is known that Type 2 diabetes is an independent risk factor for developing cognitive impairment later in life, with studies showing a two-fold higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) among diabetic patients compared with the general population. Co-led by Professor Rafael Simo from Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Spain, the four-year long Recognised project will study the biological mechanisms causing structural and functional alterations in the retina of diabetic patients to determine whether they play a role in the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. 

Queen’s University Professor Noemi Lois, from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, said the study will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cognitive decline in people with type 2 diabetes, which is required for the development of new treatments. “Our research project aims to discover whether evaluating the retina could help us to identify earlier cognitive impairment in people with type 2 diabetes, so that [more timely] support can be given to patients.”