Clinical trial results are promising for diabetic eye disease
US-based clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of two new therapies for Diabetic Macular Edema.
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) is a common health complication of type 1 diabetes and involves swelling in the centre of the retina (otherwise known as the macula). The swelling is caused by leaking blood vessels, damaged by periods of high blood glucose. People with macular edema lose their detailed vision and as such the ability to perform common daily activities. Severe damage results in legal blindness.
Laser therapy, the standard treatment for DME, has been used for almost 25 years. While it’s effective in early stage disease, new treatments are urgently needed for people with more aggressive forms of the condition. JDRF have been supporting a number of trials in this area, and in the last few months, results from two of these trials have shown promising results.
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An open letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health in National Diabetes Week 2010 from the President of JDRF Australia, Susan Alberti AO.
JDRF welcomes today’s $35 million commitment from the Opposition Leader, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, to fund the Clinical Trial Network (CTN) that will improve the health of Australians with type 1 diabetes.
Put simply, a clinical trial is a scientific study of a new medical therapy in humans.
In an exciting step forward for Australian type 1 diabetes research, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has confirmed that the Australian Government will provide $5 million funding to support the establishment of an Australian Clinical Trial Network for Type 1 Diabetes.
What is xenotransplantation?
JDRF has announced a one year industry partnership with an Australian company to support a clinical trial into the use of encapsulated pig islets to treat type 1 diabetes.
JDRF researchers from Canada show that a new vaccine can cure type 1 diabetes in mice and slow the onset of the condition in mice at risk of the disease.



