By targeting the autoimmune response that attacks beta cells in type 1 diabetes, researchers aimed to improve beta cell function in people with the disease and enable them to resume insulin production.

The study used a system developed by the research group called a “stem cell educator” which contained layers of cord blood stem cells. People with type 1 diabetes had their immune cells isolated from their blood and circulated through the stem cell educator for three hours before returning the blood to the participant. The stem cells acted like a teacher in re-educating the immune cells in an attempt to stop the autoimmune attack.

Results from the trial have indicated that after a single treatment, beta cell function improved in people with type 1 diabetes, with participants producing their own insulin. This improvement was sustained throughout the 40 week trial period, with participants needing significantly reduced daily insulin doses.

Head of Research Development at JDRF Australia, Dr Dorota Pawlak PhD says “Targeting the autoimmune attack against beta cells is an essential component of an eventual cure for type 1 diabetes. Importantly, this small clinical trial shows that ‘re-educating’ the immune cells can lead to the recovery of beta cell function and reduction of insulin dose in a selected group of individuals with type 1 diabetes.”

Researchers are keen to take this research to the next step with the aim of eventually developing a viable therapy for people with type 1 diabetes.

BMC Medicine 2012, 10:3 doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-3

JDRF is the official charity partner of the Brisbane Heat throughout the duration of the league. This partnership has been instrumental in allowing JDRF to promote our new logo and the importance of type 1 diabetes research to a wider audience.

Many JDRF families have attended home games wearing Heat clothing in support of the team. Supporters have called this partnership a “great opportunity for all JDRF kids” and a “fantastic way to promote the JDRF brand and getting the support and awareness out there in the community”.

Children with type 1 diabetes supported by JDRF have also created paintings, drawings, and other creative works to show their appreciation for Brisbane Heat. The players have responded with a video showing their support for JDRF.

Want to show your support? Why don’t you:

1. Contact Brisbane Heat to let them know how much you appreciate their support of JDRF.
2. Encourage your children to create more artworks to send to the Heat players. You can send them to the Brisbane office (GPO Box 177, Brisbane QLD 4001).
3. Spread the word. Tell your friends and family either in person or online to watch the final two Heat games and keep an eye out for the JDRF logo.
4. JDRF volunteers will be ratting donation tins at the last home game on the 17th of January, and we need all the donations we can get! If you or someone you know is going to the game, please consider giving a donation to our volunteers.

Contact our Brisbane office (gharriss@jdrf.org.au or 07 3831 0544) for more information about how you can help!

We look forward to continuing this partnership after the 2011/12 season, and having further opportunities to promote JDRF and the work we do.

As of the end of 2011, insulin pumps have been moved to the new Section C of the Australian Government Prostheses List, guaranteeing its permanent place on the list. Section C is designed to include non-surgically implanted devices like insulin pumps that have an internal part which is essential to its effectiveness.

These changes recognise the value of insulin pump therapy, and increase pump accessibility through private health insurance. However, it is still important to confirm your eligibility for insulin pump benefits with your health fund.

The Rules require that a private hospital policy which includes a listed Prostheses must pay a benefit for an insulin pump on the Prostheses List when:

• The pump is provided during a professional service for which a Medicare benefit is payable;
• The service is professional attendance by a consultant health care professional;
• The professional service during which the pump is provided is a certified Type C procedure for which the admitting health care professional certifies that the hospitalisation was necessary because of the patient’s medical condition and/or other special circumstances

For more information about private health insurance and to compare prices and benefits of all private health insurance policies available, visit the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman’s website.

If you are interested in an insulin pump, JDRF’s Insulin Pump Program provides government-funded subsidies for insulin pumps for children under 18 who are not covered by private health insurance. For more information and to request an estimate of the subsidy you may be eligible for, please see the JDRF website.

Researchers from the Australian National University have identified heparan sulfate (HS) as being essential for beta cell survival. Whilst this compound is known to be involved in a number of other biological activities, this is the first time it has been implicated in the development of type 1 diabetes.

The study suggests that levels of HS in insulin-producing beta cells are depleted as a result of the autoimmune attack that causes type 1 diabetes. When levels are reduced, the cells are defenceless against damage from common byproducts of metabolism and die. The study went on to demonstrate that replacing HS, or treating the beta cells to preserve HS levels, protected against development of type 1 diabetes.

These findings have not only identified HS as a potential new therapeutic target for the prevention of type 1 diabetes onset, it has also opened up the possibility of HS levels being used as a marker of disease onset and as a method of protecting islet cells that have been isolated and transplanted.

Whilst the initial research was conducted in mice, JDRF has provided further funding to provide proof of concept in humans.

J Clin Invest. 2012;122(1):132–141. doi:10.1172/JCI46177.

Bambi has received support from JDRF since her diagnosis with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12. Today, she shares some of her experiences with the JDRF community!

How did you work through your diagnosis at the age of 12?

I got through my diagnosis with the loving support of my family and friends. Importantly, I also received a lot of support from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and my school as well. As type 1 diabetes is something you live with 24/7, it is really important to have support in all places. At such a young age you need people who are aware around you.

What activities or ideas helped you adjust to your new life?

I had an amazing best friend who did everything with me to make it easier. We even had a teddy bear called Needles who would have the insulin injections instead of her! Fun things like diabetes camps also made it easier to adjust to living with diabetes because I knew there were lots of other kids living with it too.

What is the worst and best thing about having type 1 diabetes?

The worst thing about type 1 diabetes is that it is constantly present and in your life. There’s no such thing as a holiday. You can’t forget about it, even for as little as 12 hours because you’re going to feel the effects through your sugars.

The best thing about type 1 diabetes…it can be hard to think of one! There’s a strange upside of having type 1 diabetes though – because I travel so much for my work, airport queues can be a real nightmare. Saying I have diabetes though, can usually get me through any super long queue in no time at all!

What are you hoping Santa will bring you for Christmas?

Right now I’m just looking forward to going home and seeing my boyfriend and family. I’m missing the Australian sunny summer as well!

JDRF are excited to announce that they will be working with Bambi more in the future to promote awareness of type 1 diabetes in the community. Congratulations on your amazing international achievements so far!

We’re still dedicated to improving the lives of the 122,300 Australians with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and our mission remains unchanged – to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the support of research. We continue to increase support for research to improve management and control of T1D and delivering new and better treatments and prevention of the common complications of T1D.

This essential work of JDRF is now supported by a new logo, which will be adopted by JDRF chapters across the world. This new logo better demonstrates our energetic dedication to a better life for people with T1D and, ultimately a cure.

History

JDRF has used several logos over the years. Back in 1982, the logo of the Diabetes Youth Foundation, which later became JDRF, featured a map of Australia.

In 1987, the Diabetes Youth Foundation became JDF Australia, reflecting the affiliation with JDF International.

In the early 90s our logo featured three photos – a child, a researcher and a globe – to express our care for people, our belief in research and our global approach.

Our most recent logo features the colour blue – the colour for diabetes. We also started moving to using JDRF as a recognisable acronym.

What will this mean to you?

This new logo is a change in the way we portray ourselves to the world. We’re making a strong statement about moving forward and delivering improvements. We’re also making a distinct point about our connection to T1D, instead of “juvenile diabetes” which excludes the many adults living with T1D.

This logo is not a tangible change in what we do. Our mission is still to ultimately cure type 1 diabetes and its complications. The new logo will begin appearing on all our materials, but this will take some time. Please feel free to let us know when we’ve missed an old logo.

What are people saying about the new logo?

Co-founders and current JDRF supporters Clive and Geraldine Pack observed that the new logo shows JDRF’s distinctiveness – we’re the only national charity that focuses on type 1 diabetes.

The words ‘improving lives’ are especially important to the Pack family, who are keen to see the continued provision of practical support for people with T1D. JDRF offers this support in a variety of ways, including our Peer Support Program, government advocacy and online news and information.

Others have said the new logo expresses motion, driving JDRF forward. We’ve got somewhere very important to be – a future free of type 1 diabetes!

Tell us your thoughts about JDRF’s new logo – we would love to hear your opinion.

The tournament will feature Australian Grand Slam champions Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt. The rest outstanding lineup includes eight Grand Slamp champions, four current or former World No.1’s, and four previous Sydney winners – it is bound to be a star-studded event!

The Sydney International will run from January 8 to January 14 at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. It is a great experience for the whole family. Tickets also include access to off-court entertainment at the Live Site and Kids Interactive Zone.

JDRF is looking for volunteers to help fundraise at the event (see Volunteer Information Pack). If you are interested in attending and supporting JDRF, please contact Helen Farrer, Development Manager NSW/ACT on: phone 02 9020 6110 or hfarrer@jdrf.org.au.

Some of the interesting insights gained include:

• Identifying the specific blood vessels where the T cells enter the pancreas
• How the T cells launch a random attack on the beta cells
• How long it actually takes to kill beta cells

These insights have already started to explain some mysteries about type 1 diabetes, and opens potential new research avenues.

The video was made possible through the use of a two-photon microscope that allows researcher to “see” into living tissue, and the development of a procedure that allowed the microscope to be used in the pancreas, which had always been too small, soft, and difficult to access.

Head of Research Development at JDRF Australia, Dr Dorota Pawlak PhD says “This dynamic view will provide the worldwide scientific community with incredible insights into this disease process. These videos can affect future directions in type 1 diabetes research.”

J Clin Invest. December 2011, DOI:10.1172/JCI59285

Julie set herself the goal of running the London Marathon before the age of 50, and to raise a total of $2800 to be split between JDRF UK and JDRF Australia – mission accomplished! Training for such a big marathon went for six months from October to March, and meant that Julie had 4am training starts in summer to beat the summer heat.

She had lots of support from family and friends. Friends sold Jelly Babies to work colleagues, and other friends sold old clothes and shoes on eBay with all proceeds going to JDRF.

The greatest challenge for Julie came towards the end – running the marathon two weeks after the death of her father. It was particularly challenging as he had planned to be on Tower Bridge with her son Luke during the marathon to look for Julie as she ran.

Since completing the London Marathon, Julie has herself been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes / LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults). She isn’t letting this slow her down though – she plans for her next challenge to be the Jump to Cure Diabetes, and then the City to Surf Perth Marathon!

Julie is one of our many inspiring Team Cure Diabetes fundraisers. To become one yourself, visit www.teamcurediabetes.org.au.

The JDRF community has helped us to support more than 60 Australian research projects in 2011. These projects have one important thing in common – they are all helping move us closer to a better life and a cure for people with type 1 diabetes.

All this, and more, could not happen without the support of you, and the rest of the JDRF community. You can help us achieve more essential type 1 diabetes research.

Our 2011 Christmas Appeal will be arriving in a selection of mailboxes over the next week. Fundraise with us this holiday season and know that your contribution counts. A special gift of $30, $50 or $100 or a pledge of a regular gift from you at this time will make all the difference.

1. Donate online for a quick and easy transaction.
2. Pledge a regular automatic monthly or quarterly gift.
3. Become part of Team Cure Diabetes and ask for donations in lieu of gifts this Christmas
4. Become part of the Danielle Alberti Legacy Society and remember JDRF in your will

You can make a difference this holiday season.