Celebrating Top Members-Project Vote-Getters: Spotlight on Type 1 Diabetes
[I've written here about six projects proposed for the American Express Members Project that were in the top 25 by number of votes, but were not selected by the advisory board. To celebrate the efforts of parents who got that vote out, and spotlight some worthwhile charities, I'll be profiling these bypassed projects over the course of this week; today's is the fourth in the series, and you can find the others at the end of this post. Though they're no longer in the contest, I hope you'll consider voting with your pocketbook and making a donation.]
Project Name: No More Insulin Shots Required
Popular Vote: The project was #19 in number of votes when the American Express Members Project Top 25 were chosen, with 2,334.
Disability Addressed: Type 1 Diabetes. According to Debra Manzella R.N, About.com guide to Diabetes, "Type 1 is an autoimmune disease of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The pancreas can no longer make the insulin necessary to transport sugar from the blood into the other cells of the body for energy. Sugar builds up in the blood and over time can damage internal organs and blood vessels." To hear about how an artificial pancreas would help those with Type 1 diabetes, view the video "Diabetes With No Finger Pricks."
Achievable Goals: One of the organizations working to fund research on an articificial pancreas is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. According to the JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project site, "The prevailing sentiment in the scientific community is that an artificial pancreas is within reach soon if enough researchers and agencies make it a priority and various constituencies work together to address the remaining hurdles. Technology already exists for the two main components of a 'closed loop' system -- glucose sensing and insulin delivery -- both of which have proven effective in everyday use. The key is to link the two components into a reliable device and ensure that it is available to most type 1 patients." A page on "JDRF's Goals" states that "The overall goal of the project is to ensure that within five years patients have access to artificial pancreas technologies that will improve glycemic control, and that in the long term there is broad patient access and a thriving competitive market for these technologies."
Current Research: From the JDRF's Research/Clinical Trials page:
"JDRF is funding $6 million a year in research to identify the clinical and economic benefits of continuous glucose monitors and to advance the development of a closed-loop artificial pancreas.
"The JDRF Continuous Glucose Sensor Human Clinical Trial is a 12-month, multi-site clinical trial involving approximately 450 patients with type 1 diabetes ages 8 and older. The trial will evaluate how continuous glucose monitors affect various health outcomes, including HbA1c levels, time spent in glycemic target, episodes of hypoglycemia, and quality of life. In addition, the clinical trail will collect data to assess the economic costs and benefits of sensor use. The study is a randomized control trial where in the first six months half of the patients will use continuous glucose sensors and half of the patients will not. After the first six months, all patients will use continuous glucose sensors for another six months.
"The Artificial Pancreas Consortium aims to speed and optimize the process of linking continuous glucose sensors and insulin pumps, including the development of various computer 'algorithms' to communicate between the two devices. This research builds from research already funded by JDRF at Yale which showed people with type 1 diabetes using closed loop systems in the hospital spent more time in normal glucose range. The consortium is now funding multiple sites to test the safety and effectiveness of various versions of a closed loop system. While the initial research will take place in hospital based clinical settings, the goal of the initiative is to eventually test artificial pancreas systems in every day life settings such as home or school."
Potential Impact: From the JDRF site: "An artificial pancreas could potentially revolutionize diabetes care and management, significantly improving the ability of people with diabetes to maintain strict blood glucose control, and -- as a direct result -- helping reduce kidney disease, heart attacks and stroke, amputations, blindness, and death from severe hypoglycemia. ... The risk of complications -- and the economic burden placed on our health care system -- could be significantly lowered with devices that improve blood glucose control. And good glucose control will probably enhance the effectiveness of promising new cure therapies such as beta cell regeneration and islet transplantation."
Personal Appeal: On the American Express Members Project page, the member submitting the project wrote, "My son was diagnosed Mother's Day, 2007 with Type 1 Diabetes. Since that day, he has had to cope with over 3,500 finger pricks to check his blood sugar and over 1,500 insulin injections. I am awake every morning between 2 - 3 a.m. to check his blood sugar -- if it is low I need to wake him up to feed him to increase his blood sugar level. If a child sleeps with a blood sugar too low, they will have seizures and may die. Children should not have to endure this -- a cure can be found."
How to Help: According to Shana Vernoia, public information coordinator for the JDRF, "As an independent entity, not aligned with any commercial enterprise or device manufacturer, JDRF is in a unique position to address many of the scientific and regulatory issues that currently exist and to create an environment that facilitates the delivery of an artificial pancreas. To speed up efforts to close the loop, JDRF is spending $7.6 million in research this year to assess the clinical and economic benefits from use of continuous glucose sensors and test versions of a closed loop artificial pancreas. JDRF is taking steps to accelerate the development, regulatory approval, and acceptance of continuous glucose monitoring, in order to ensure that in the coming years patients have access to technologies that will improve blood glucose control, and that, in the long run, there is broad patient access and a thriving competitive market for both CGM and artificial pancreas products."
To aid the JDRF in that work, you can make a financial donation and sign up to be an advocate in support of legislative efforts.
Previous spotlights:
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