JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Minister 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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JDRF 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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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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More 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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In 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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The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council has lifted a five-year ban on the clinical use of xenotransplantation – a medical process involving the transplantation of animal tissue into humans to treat disease.

The ban was originally established by the NHMRC in 2004 to allow for further research into the possible side effects of the technique, particularly concerning the potential transmission of disease from animals to humans.

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After visiting the White House to meet US President Barack Obama with 150 young people from around the world earlier this year, JDRF Youth Ambassador Brendan still had a couple more names on his list of world leaders to meet and talk about type 1 diabetes. He was able to cross another name off recently when he had dinner with the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd.

JDRF: How did you come to meet the PM?

Brendan: My Federal MP, Roger Price, invited me to his annual dinner dance.  He was being honoured for serving 25 years in Parliament and invited the PM as his guest of honour.  When we arrived at the dance, I was told by Mr Price’s staff that I would be sitting next to Mr Rudd for dinner, which was quite exciting!

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It started as a simple meat raffle to do a bit for charity on Melbourne Cup Day, and turned into one of the biggest events that Palmers Island has seen for a while…

Just a few short months before, Sarah had rushed through the doors of Geelong Hospital with a seriously ill toddler in her arms, and little idea that her life was about to change dramatically. She was devastated hours later to learn that her beautiful 17 month old son James had type 1 diabetes.

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A JDRF-funded clinical trial has shown that a drug used to treat certain types of cancer can protect beta cells, and therefore preserve insulin production, in people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

The trial, conducted in the US through the international Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet consortium and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides the first conclusive evidence that it is possible to target particular types of immune cells to reduce or prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes.

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JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Queensland have launched a clinical trial into a new blood test they hope will be able to accurately predict people at risk of type 1 diabetes.

The test is the result of research that has identified a link between the onset of type 1 diabetes and a special type of protein called NF-Kappa B. In a healthy immune system, this protein is an important component of the immune response to infection. In people with type 1 diabetes, and seemingly also in people at risk of developing type 1 diabetes, this protein is constantly activated resulting in the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

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