World-first human trial aims to treat underlying cause of type 1 diabetes

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australian researchers have started a world-first human trial of a drug to treat the underlying cause of type one diabetes. The life-long autoimmune condition affects more than 130- thousand Australians.

Transcript

00:00It's been a busy few years for this mother of two.

00:06All the rest of it's got to be yellow.

00:09Parenting young children has been made trickier by diabetes.

00:13The 36-year-old was first diagnosed with the gestational form when pregnant with her daughter.

00:19I was in shock. I had just run a half marathon. I was as fit as I had been in my life.

00:25The condition came back when she was expecting her son and last year she found out she has type 1 diabetes.

00:33It's an autoimmune condition that isn't caused by lifestyle factors.

00:39The Brisbane mother has to inject herself with insulin several times a day to regulate her blood sugar.

00:46If I could do anything that could take that away, I would be willing to do that.

00:52For 25 years, rheumatologist and academic Ranjani Thomas has been developing a new treatment.

01:00It's intended to preserve the pancreatic cells of people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

01:07The goal is to stop the disease in its tracks, reducing the amount of insulin needed.

01:13So this therapy is really trying to get to the root cause of the autoimmune disease.

01:18The stakes are high. People with the condition have an increased risk of heart disease, strokes, nerve and vision issues.

01:26There's a lot of implications with diabetes. It's a lifelong condition.

01:30The phase 1 trial, designed to have 36 adult participants, is underway.

01:36If the medication is found to be safe and effective, studies could be conducted in children.

01:43A long term goal is preventing the disease altogether in people found to be at risk.

01:49For Cecilia and so many others, it'd be life changing.

01:53If that works, it's like kind of magic, isn't it?

01:56I think it's an effective thing as well that people can

02:16understand.

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