People with diabetes are at a higher risk of cardiovascular complications such as peripheral neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy, stroke, and coronary arterial disease. Inflammation has been hypothesized to be one of the driving mechanisms underlying the occurrence of these complications. This thesis describes a number of studies on the interaction between inflammation and diabetes, and how they might affect cardiovascular complications. Here we found immune dysregulations occur in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, though the drivers are different; inflammation in type 1 diabetes is driven more by abnormal blood glucose levels, such as prolonged exposure to hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. In type 2 diabetes, it is affected more by dysfunctions in fat and micronutrient (namely magnesium) metabolisms.
Mandala Ajie Chandra received his bachelor’s degree in microbiology in Institut Teknologi Bandung in 2016, followed by a master’s degree in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Radboud University (2020). His PhD at Radboudumc, focused on the relation between metabolism and inflammation in diabetes. He continues his diabetes research as a postdoctoral researcher in Leiden UMC.