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What areas of T1D research do you currently find most important? Select all that apply.
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How about a cure? I have only been waiting 65 years. I have been told all of my life that a cure is only a few years away. Now I think it would be lovely for my almost-three-year-old granddaughter with T1D.
My “other” are two things: 1) Research into prevention and treatment of associated health conditions such as diabulrmia and diabetes axiety 2) research into the cost and effectiveness and models for sustainability of peer learning and support in t1d communities (including looking at how such learning and support can be fostered in communities where doctor/specialist nurse lead teaching and support is known to be less effective, or generic advice is known to be insufficient (eg elite sports, comorbidities).
I put automated systems. While some of the other items would be better and more of a true cure, I’ve been waiting over 30 years for that. It seems technology advancements with cgm and pumps using those readings to deliver insulin is the one thing that’s becoming reality. Price needs to come down so they’re more affordable to all people but that technology holds real promise to improve the ease of living with diabetes.
My son told me a research group, I think at UAB, cured mice with altered insulin-producing cells. They changed them enough that the mice’s immune system didn’t recognize them and kill them off. I believe his exact words were “so they might have a cure before you die”. I am hopeful, but I haven’t heard any more about the study.
Any that are taking care of the root cause. All the others are bandaids that do nothing to stop diabetes.
Faster-acting insulin!
Now thatI am a LT T1d, long term t1d, i am beginning to notice that my memory is failing, and I don’t know whether it’s just old age(71) or 60 years with T1d. No glucometer for the first 25 years, just pee strips, and they were mostly 4+. Yes, I got religion when my T1d dad died a long slow death at 67, when I was forty. But I’d like to see more studies of us old timers.
Checked all the choices and other. The other would be understanding how to better manage and cope with diabetes.
A cure for TYPE 1 would be priceless, the ability to cure one autoimmune disease would open doors for other autoimmune diseases as well (to include graves, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus as well as diabetes). But preventing this “over active” part of our body seems just put of reach of research. My insulin pump has really improved my day to day control, and quicker acting insulin (more closely acting like our natural insulin) allowing a deceased risk of hypoglycemia and lowering after meal spikes. Combining both tools with a continuous looped system adding a glucose/glucagon side could completely remove the risks of human error. There are studies towards this, more readily allowing a more normal life.
Outside of cure being the most important research priority, glucose responsive insulin would be the greatest improvement to daily living. If you could just take one shot a day or similar, it would greatly reduce the burden in managing the disease. Pump/cgm systems are not only expensive but are uncomfortable, sometimes unreliable/inaccurate, and require frequent manual intervention. There is little truth to the idea that automated systems make diabetes management effortless or foolproof.
I marked the first 2 because they are currently benefiting all Type 1 s today. The next 4 are the gold standard for finding a relevant cure, but are not as close – we’ve been hearing about some of them for years. How sad.
How about turning Type 1 into Type None
Forgive me for being cynical, but I fear the billions being made by manufacturers of insulin, pumps, supplies, meters strips, and all the other cash-generating products, not to mention doctors, clinics, and the rest, have made it unlikely we will ever see a cure. Getting better technology is much more possible since it won’t negatively affect their cashflow.
We have a stable premixed glucagon, I’m long past ready for a tire “artificial” pancreas pump. Being able to make my own islet cells work again, wow! I’ll believe it when I see it.
I selected all of them because each one contributes something worthwhile to make life with T1 diabetes easier, safer, longer, and more aligned with healthy outcomes. The only “cure” for those who have developed full scale beta cell demise would be to reintroduce functional living beta cells into the body, or to prevent the ones that are still active in early stages of disease progression from dying before they totally wear out and self-destruct. Keeping beta cells alive in susceptible humans, especially in the early stages of disease progression is a key factor to prevent total beta cell destruction.
I chose Treatments that re-program the immune system, Beta cell implantation, Restoring insulin-producing cells in the body and Preventing onset of T1D and because all together they would prevent or restore our islet cells to work properly. My GAD antibodies are incredibly high and I assume they are the cause of both epilepsy and T1D. I also have some nonexistent numbers of other necessary antibodies. If I had beta cells implanted I would need to make sure my immune system was in good working order first. Besides this site, PubMed and ClinicalTrials are good places to see what research and hypotheses are out there, being worked on and if you can participate.
I have been involved with automatic insulin pumps and starting another hopefully this week. I have also been in a Viactye stem cell study. I do believe stem cell will be the answer but it is a long way off. In the meantime, it is automatic pumps and much faster, much faster insulins to make live much, much easier. Things are happening. Just think back in the 70’s using one shot and testing urine. And now think of the last 10 years, how much has happened and how fast.
I selected all the categories. It is important to find a cure and preventative (beta cell transplants, auto-immune solutions, vaccines, reactivating the islet cells), but until that time, the advancement of insulin delivery technology is equally important.