← Diabetes Connections | Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes Connections | Type 1 Diabetes
In the News... Insulin Act, weekly basal approved, weight loss pill okayed, gene therapy for T1D and more!
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From the very beginning, they mean everything to you, and that means you'd do anything for them, especially if they're at risk. So when it comes to type 1 diabetes, screen it like you mean it. Even if just one person in your family has type one, you're up to 15 times more likely to get it too. Screen it like you mean it, because one blood test could help you spot type 1 long before you need insulin. Talk to your doctor about how to screen for type 1 diabetes, because the more you know, the more you can do. So don't wait. Visit screenfortype1.com to learn more. Again, that's screenfortype1.com. Hello and welcome to another episode of Diabetes Connections. Always so glad to have you here. I'm your host, Stacey Sims. We aim to educate and inspire about diabetes with a focus on people who use insulin. And this is an in the News episode where we bring you the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. A reminder. You can find the sources and links and a transcript and a lot more information for every story mentioned here in the show Notes before we jump in, I just wanted to welcome so many people who found us through the episode last week about grown up T1DS. If I didn't already know there was the need for something for adults with type 1 before, boy do I know now. This was absolutely incredible. And along with grown up T1DS, there's another group, T1D2 100, that we've talked about before focusing on aging with type 1 diabetes. I'm going to link both groups up in the show notes for this episode as well because boy, the podcast listening was incredible. But the Facebook comments, I think that's one of the most commented, shared, liked Facebook posts I've had on diabetes connections in a long time. So thank you for the incredible response and a lot more to come here and welcome for everybody who found us through there. But it really just goes to show the need for adults with type 1, and kudos to all of you who are making that happen. We have opened registration for our next Club 1921 event. Club 1921 events are dinners. They are a one night only event usually for healthcare providers and patient leaders, sometimes for the entire Type 1 community. We have three open for registration right now. There's a wait list for Atlanta which is happening next week, but we have slots available still for Philadelphia, really King of Prussia area, and that is the following week on April 22nd and then White Plains, New York in early May. We just opened that, so please check that out if you have any questions, definitely reach out and let me know why. Club 1921 most of you already know that was the year that insulin was discovered or isolated as a treatment for diabetes. All right, our top story this week, lowering the price of insulin is getting bipartisan support with a Senate act. It's called the Insulin act to cap the cost at $35 per month for Americans with private insurance plans. It would also start a pilot program to provide more affordable insulin to uninsured Americans in 10 states. A somewhat similar bill passed in 2022 that was part of the Biden Era Inflation Reduction act and that capped insulin at $35 per month for older adults on Medicare. Out of pocket costs for insulin vary widely. More than half of the states in recent years have passed their own insulin co pay caps. But about 57% of Americans with private health insurance have self insured plans that states cannot regulate this way, which means they're left out of that state cost cap. Some patients are also uninsured or have difficulties with the cost saving programs. So stay tuned on how this bill moves ahead. The FDA has approved the first once weekly basal analog insulin, Novo Nordisks, a weekly for adults with type 2. We've been talking about this for a while on the podcast. It's already approved in the EU and 13 other countries. In May of 24, an FDA advisory panel voted against its use in type 1 while expressing no safety concerns about its use for people with type 2. So Novo moved ahead for the type 2 indication. Some endocrinologists though, are warning that if you have variable activity levels throughout the week, you might have issues with a once weekly basal dose. So they're advising patients use caution, make sure they're educated about hypoglycemia and use a cgm. The FDA has also approved a new weight loss pill from drug maker Eli Lilly. The daily pill, called Findao, is the second oral GLP1 to reach the market in recent months following the approval of Novo Nordisk's WeGovy pill. Foundao will be offered in six doses. It can be taken at any time of day without meal restrictions. The Wegovy pill has to be taken on an empty stomach each morning. The pill versions tend to lead to less weight loss than the weekly injections. Novo has cut the price of Ozempic and Wegov for a second time in India to fend off competition. Novo's patent on semaglutide expired in March, and at least a half a dozen Indian drug makers launched multiple brands of the diabetes and weight Loss drugs for up to 70% less. The lowest doses from Novo will now be priced at about $15 a week. Scientists have cured type 1 diabetes in mice without long term immune suppression. A new study researchers created a blended immune system that contains elements of both the recipients and donor's immune system. The this enabled mice to tolerate a transplant of insulin producing cells without long term immune suppression. This is from Stanford University. It is a multi step process that uses multiple antibodies, low dose radiation and a rheumatoid arthritis drug. It's in mice so a long way to go here. There's a new push to change the name prediabetes to the use of a three stage classification of type two with the aim of promoting earlier treatment and risk reduction. This is led by members of the Time in Range Coalition. There's no drug approval process for prediabetes despite the evidence that things like metformin and GLP1 drugs can prevent progression to type 2 and reduce cardiovascular risk. An official international consensus statement is in the works. A first of its kind clinical trial using a particular gene therapy for type 1 is expected to begin this year. The study is called Progress in It'll include adults with type one who get a one time injection into a thigh muscle and then they'll be followed for a year to see how safe it is and how well it works. The injection delivers a harmless virus that delivers instructions to the body. The goal is to get the thigh muscle to start helping regulate blood sugar by producing insulin and supporting glucose control. Unlike current transplants of either cadaver or stem cell derived islets that require immune suppression and are very limited they this therapy could quote potentially be for the masses with type 1. According to the researchers. University of Florida health scientists have created one of the most detailed maps yet of gene activity in the pancreas of people with Type 1. The map shows which genes are turned on where they are active within the organ, helping researchers pinpoint the biological signals driving the disease. Scientists are aiming to examine diabetes at several stages from healthy tissue to early immune warning signs and finally to establish diabetes. And by comparing these stages they can see how gene activity changes as diabetes develops. Right back with a lot more news including new study about teenagers, type 1 and diabetes distress, new resources for disabled veterans with diabetes, a new launch from Beta Bionics and did you see Omnipod on tv? We're talking about that right after this. Did you know all the sounds used to make that song come from a site change with the Omnipod 5 automated insulin delivery system? Pretty cool. Huh? With Omnipod 5 pump site changes are simple. The pod lasts up to 3 days, 72 hours, and to change it, you just fill up the pump with insulin, place it on your body, tap a few buttons in the Omnipod 5 app, and you're ready to go. There's no tubing to prime like with traditional insulin pumps, and it's virtually pain free, so you never have to see or handle the insertion needle. Want to try Omnipod 5 for yourself? Request a free Omnipod 5 starter kit today by visiting omnipod.com diabetesconnections Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Did you hear the pod drop back to the news now and A new study links emotional distress to blood sugar levels in teens with type 1. The study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, shows higher emotional distress is associated with higher blood sugar levels, largely because it interferes with daily diabetes management tasks such as monitoring glucose levels, giving insulin and managing diet and exercise. These researchers say the big message here, diagnosis diabetes distress, is very common and it's a very meaningful factor to consider for the healthcare teams that are taking care of adolescents. They go on to say that mid to late teen years, very important time in diabetes management, typically the time when kids are on their own more, but it is the peak time of what they call suboptimal glycemic control. A new partnership between the group Disabled American Veterans and Dexcom is set to strengthen support for veterans managing diabetes. The diabetes affects about 25% of the veteran population, a higher rate than the general population. In March, the two organizations debuted an online resource designed to give veterans and their families a reliable hub for education. The resource page, presented by dexcom, provides insight into the prevalence of diabetes among veterans, especially Those with type 2, as well as various treatment options. Abbott is teaming up with wearable company Whoops. Whoop has a wrist device that provides quote, intelligent health guidance across sleep recovery, strain, fitness and longevity. The investment by Abbott closely mirrors Dexcom's investment in Aura in 2024. The Dexcom CGM and the Oura ring are now integrated. No announcement here about whether the Abbott sensors will become integrated. As part of the Whoop Wearables line, BetaBionics launches Bionic Insights, a new feature for healthcare providers and people with diabetes. According to the company. The new feature organizes key information into two categories, areas of success and areas of opportunity. They're meant to help providers reinforce positive interactions and help support improvement. Glucotrak's first in human study of its fully implantable continuous blood glucose monitor reported no device or procedure related serious adverse events over five days in 10 people taking insulin. They say it also had a mard of 7.7. They say they are now targeting a second quarter submission to the FDA. And finally, fun to see Omnipod featured very prominently in an episode of the popular reboot of Scrubs last week. One of the main characters, Turk, is asked about what he can eat. He he pulls up a sleeve to show an Omnipod and explains he can eat whatever he wants. We have a clip of it here. Insilly sweet barbecue sauce with your diabetes, right? Yeah, I mean I got my pod I could dose insulin from my phone for. You really want Insulet, the company that makes Omnipod, says that the episode, which is now streaming on Hulu and Disney, introduces a platform for something bigger. Abc, Disney and Omnipod are bringing real representation to one of the world's most common chronic conditions and diabetes. They go on to say this can help normalize everyday diabetes tech like Dr. Turk's Omnipod fitting seamlessly into real life from hospital shifts to workouts to everyday moments. Seeing diabetes acknowledged in mainstream media has the power to help make this community feel less alone and more inspired. And I'll tell you what I really liked about this because we've talked a lot about, you know, media misrepresentation, but sometimes they really get it right. But quite often when they get it right, it's like a very side character or a one off. Turk is one of the main characters. I love this show and I'm really excited to see. Even if that's the only time that they show the Omnipod, you could see this show doing a lot with a storyline where Turk has diabetes. Very cool stuff. Congratulations Omnipod. And that is it for in the news. If you like it, please share it. If you've got a news tip or something you'd like to hear more about, you can always email me stacyiabetes-connections.com thanks to my editor, John Buchanis from Audio Editing Solutions. And thank you so much for listening. I'm Stacey Sims. I'll see you back here soon. Until then, be kind to yourself. Diabetes Connections is a production of Stacy Sims Media. All rights reserved. All wrongs avenged. I know it's hard for some of you to believe, but we had no CGM when Benny was diagnosed at age 2 and we didn't have one until he was 9. And that's just the way it was back in the day. We were doing something like ten finger sticks, a day and still missing a lot of highs and lows. I was so happy to start him on a Dexcom CGM and it just keeps improving. Dexcom G7 is their best system yet. It is discreet, accurate and delivers real time glucose numbers right to your smartphone or smartwatch. No finger sticks required. Warms up in just 30 minutes and the alerts Amazing. The urgent low soon alert gives us up to 20 minutes warning before a low hits and Benny can personalize all his settings. It's an easier way to manage diabetes and gives us both more peace of mind. Learn more@dexcom.com.