JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Put simply, a clinical trial is a scientific study of a new medical therapy in humans.

Clinical trials are usually the last stage of the research process, capping off years of laboratory and animal research. Their ultimate aim is to obtain a realistic picture of what would happen if a medical treatment was available to the Australian public. Read more...

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.

This announcement stems from the Prime Minister’s initial commitment to match the generous $500,000 pledge made by JDRF President Dr Sue Alberti AO at the recent Federal Kids in the House event in Canberra.

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What is xenotransplantation?

For type 1 diabetes, xenotransplantation involves taking insulin-producing islets from animals —in this case, pigs—and transplanting them into people. Pigs are considered the best species for xenotransplantation because pig organs are similar in size and physiology to human organs and pig insulin has been shown to work effectively in humans.

Earlier this year, the Australian government’s National Health and Medical Research Council lifted a moratorium on the clinical use of xenotransplantation. The ruling came after five years of research into the possible side effects of the technique, particularly the potential transmission of disease from animals to humans. It concluded that xenotransplantation research can proceed, given that researchers adhere to strict guidelines, and that the associated risks with xenotransplantation are minimal and acceptable given the potential benefits.

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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.

The trial, being conducted in New Zealand by Living Cell Technologies, involves eight adult patients with established type 1 diabetes and hypoglycemia unawareness – a constant inability to sense when blood glucose levels are dropping dangerously low.

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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.

Type 1 diabetes is caused when a persons own immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Whilst the precise trigger of this attack is still unproven, researchers do know that there are certain immune cells that play a more important role than others. The challenge is to target the “bad” cells without harming the good cells that protect us from day-to-day infections.

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One 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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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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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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New clinical trial data suggests certain blood pressure medications can significantly slow the progression of diabetic eye disease.

US researchers have published data from a five-year multi-center clinical trial that demonstrates that the use medications commonly used to treat high pressure can help to prevent and slow progression of diabetic retinopathy.

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A JDRF trial shows that continuous glucose monitor (CGM) devices help to maintain tight blood sugar levels whilst lowering the risk of dangerously low blood sugar.

There is extensive research to show that tight blood glucose control is the best way to prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes complications such as kidney failure, retinopathy and heart disease. According to results from the Diabetes Complications and Control Trial, every one point reduction in HbA1C reduces the risk of long-term complications by approximately 40%.

Unfortunately, research has also shown that one of the hurdles to tight blood sugar control is the risk of hypoglycemia – both real and perceived.

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