Life with Type 1 Diabetes,
medical research and the search for a cure

adelaide First islet transplant conducted in AdelaideA South Australian woman has become the first person to receive an islet transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide.

Margaret Harrigan, a teacher from Adelaide, is producing her own insulin for the first time since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 36 years ago after receiving an islet transplant in January.

Margaret had spent years living with hypoglycemia unawareness – severe and uncontrollable blood glucose fluctuations that made day-to-day living almost impossible. Four weeks after the transplant, Margaret has almost halved her insulin requirement and is free of dangerous low blood sugar attacks.

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Type 1 Diabetes Prevention Study

family100 Type 1 Diabetes Prevention StudyAre you under 30 years of age and have a relative with type 1 diabetes? Perhaps you have type 1 diabetes yourself and have family members that would like to make a contribution towards a cure.

The Type 1 Diabetes Prevention Trial is an exciting study being run across Australia and New Zealand by the Diabetes Vaccine Development Centre (DVDC). Investigators are using an insulin nasal spray vaccine to try to protect people who are genetically at risk of type 1 diabetes.

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What is… stem cell tourism?

Stem cells“Stem cell tourism” is a term that has recently emerged to describe the increasing number of people heading overseas for medical stem cell treatments that are not approved or available in Australia.

In Australia, and many other countries around the world, stem cell therapy is only approved to treat blood disorders such as leukemia. Whilst research is moving rapidly and showing great promise, the use of any type of stem cell as a therapy for diseases like type 1 diabetes is still firmly classed as experimental. This doesn’t mean these therapies won’t work, just that scientists and clinicians have deemed there isn’t enough data available to demonstrate patient safety as well as a long term benefit.

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To Canberra for the Cure!

Kids in the House CanberraOne hundred Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Youth Ambassadors aged 3 to 40, all with type 1 diabetes, will converge on Canberra to plead for continued government funding for type 1 diabetes research on 18 March.

Supported by a crowd of family members, total numbers at Kids in the House will hit 300. They are visiting Canberra as representatives of the 140,000 children and adults in Australia with type 1 diabetes, and the tens of thousands more who care for them.

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Cooper is getting a new toy

Cooper Farrelly Cooper is getting a new toyTassie Mum Leah calls to her son while she is on the phone to JDRF. “Cooper, come and have some more sandwich! He’s actually on his way to a hypo right now,” she says.

Cooper is a bright, active, “beautiful” seven year old boy who has had type 1 diabetes since he was three. Back then, while visiting a sick brother in hospital, Cooper picked up a virus. Leah says he never really recovered.

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Medtronic Paradigm Insulin PumpMinister for Health, Nicola Roxon MP, has announced an expansion of the Type 1 Diabetes Insulin Pump Program, with a dramatically increased government subsidy of up to 80% of the purchase price of an insulin pump.

The program was first launched in 2008 and provides a means-tested subsidy towards the purchase of an insulin pump for children under 18 who do not have access to private health insurance.

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Sleeping Boy Trial results show artificial pancreas reduces risk of overnight hypoglycemiaJDRF funded trails at Cambridge University have shown that an artificial pancreas dramatically reduces the risk of potentially deadly hypoglycemia.

Published today in the respected journal The Lancet, JDRF-funded researchers developed and successfully tested an automated management system, which was able to predict and prevent blood sugar fluctuations. Dramatic blood sugar drops, or hypoglycemia, have immediate and often devastating consequences and have an enormous impact on both individuals and families living with type 1 diabetes.

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beta Stress hormone prompts insulin production   New hope for regeneration of beta cells JDRF funded research in the US has found that a hormone associated with the body’s fight or flight instinct prompts beta cells to grow and to produce insulin.

These findings reinforce the potential of regeneration as a cure for diabetes and provide insights for discovering new approaches to treat people with diabetes by restoring or regenerating their ability to produce insulin.

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Cyclists Tackle Type 1 Diabetes

Ride to Cure participantsMore than 300 cyclists strapped on their helmets and pulled on lycra for the Ride to Cure Diabetes. JDRF’s annual cycling event covers the best of the picturesque Barossa Valley with three courses of 35, 80 or 160kms.

In just 5 years the Ride to Cure Diabetes has seen more than $5 million invested into Australian research in type 1 diabetes, with a  spectacular $1.1 million raised this year.

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JDRF Artificial PancreasIn a significant breakthrough for people with diabetes, JDRF has formed a partnership with two international companies to produce an automated diabetes management system to eliminate the need for insulin injections and dramatically reduce the risk of life threatening health complications.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has today announced an innovative partnership to develop an automated system to help people with type 1 diabetes better control their disease – the first step on the path to what would be among the most revolutionary advancements in treating type 1 diabetes: the development of an artificial pancreas, a fully automated system to dispense insulin to patients based on real-time changes in blood sugar levels.

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