Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM)’s Director of the Diabetes Clinic and a leading expert in the field, stops at nothing to take science and knowledge of the disease to new heights.
On June 1, he and two IRCM patients will be climbing the Mont Blanc massif as part of an expedition to study the effects of hiking at altitude on the body, particularly on glycemic variation, and the impact of exercise, depending on its intensity, on hypo- and hyperglycemic risk in people with type 1 diabetes. A number of other factors, including recovery at altitude and insulin pump management in this context, will also be examined.
"Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret's initiative illustrates the creativity that drives scientists in their quest for knowledge," said Dr. Jean-François Côté, President and Scientific Director of the IRCM.
This project will be carried out within the framework of the research chair on type 1 diabetes co-held by Dr. Elsa Heyman of the University of Lille (France) and Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret, in collaboration with Santélys, a healthcare services provider in France.
The ultimate aim of this expedition and its observations is to propose recommendations on the management of glycemia, during and in recovery from a trek at altitude, to enable athletes living with type 1 diabetes to participate in the best possible conditions.
The personal, social and financial burden of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, is considerable. The IRCM has top-level expertise in this field, and follows over 2,000 patients living with diabetes, mainly type 1 and rare forms of diabetes.
The Journal de Montréal will be devoting a special feature to this expedition in its weekend edition.
