Meet three young adults who are all in the spotlight AND have type 1 diabetes. NFL player Chad Muma, actor Mary Mouser, and professional race car driver Ryan Reed took part in a panel discussion at this summer's Friends for Life conference. The moderator is CNN correspondent Oren Liebermann, who also lives with T1D.
I attended this panel in person and thought it would be fun to bring to a wider audience.
One of the things you don’t hear is a short film about Chad Muma that was shown at the start of the panel.. it’s a great look at how he kept his dream of playing in the NFL going after his diagnosis. You can watch it here:
https://www.tandemdiabetes.com/resources/community/team-tandem/tandem-ambassadors/chad-muma
Note: Mary Mouser, Chad Muma, and Ryan Reed have compensation agreements with Tandem Diabetes Care. Individual experiences may vary.
RX ONLY. The t:slim X2 insulin pump with Control-IQ technology is indicated for patients with type 1 diabetes, 6 years and older. BOXED WARNING: Control-IQ technology should not be used by people under age 6, or who use less than 10 units of insulin/day, or who weigh less than 55 lbs. For full safety information, visit: https://bit.ly/2OKAQsw
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It’s In the News, a look at the top stories and headlines from the diabetes community happening now. Top stories this week: Amazon Pharmacy will automatically apply insulin coupons, a new study shows A1Cs are going down for people with T1D who have access to technology, pollution and gestational diabetes study and a wild study that looks at how a parasite might help prevent type 2.
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Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now
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In the news is brought to you by Edgepark simplify your diabetes journey with Edgepark
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Amazon’s online pharmacy will automatically apply manufacturer-sponsored coupons to more than 15 insulin and diabetes medicines to help patients access discounts pledged by the drug industry.
With the new program, patients using Amazon Pharmacy will no longer have to search for and manually enter coupons from the three largest insulin makers, Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), Eli Lilly (LLY.N), and Sanofi (SASY.PA), to lower the cost of their insulin to as little as $35 for a month's supply, the company said.
Novo, Lilly and Sanofi announced in March that they would slash their insulin prices by at least 70% by or in 2024, but many reports some patients were finding it difficult to get already discounted generic insulin from pharmacies at the promised lower price.
Amazon Pharmacy will also automatically apply available discounts to diabetes-related medical devices from manufacturers Dexcom and Insulet, including continuous glucose monitors and pumps, as well as to other cardiometabolic medicines such as Novo's powerful weight-loss drug Wegovy.
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-pharmacy-automates-discounts-help-insulin-patients-get-pledged-prices-2023-08-15/
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New study will look at Liver Targeted Insulin (LTI) in Type 1 diabetes.. Directing insulin action to the liver may help restore normal liver physiology for people with Type 1 diabetes, leading to better glucose control and overall health outcomes. Jeremy Pettus and a team of researchers are working to determine the mechanism of action and evaluate the safety profile of the Liver Targeted Insulin
Pettus lives with type 1 and is an endocrinologist who is also the xx at TCOYD.
“Living with Type 1 diabetes is extremely tough,” said Pettus. “One of the major barriers to helping patients with Type 1 diabetes achieve normal glucose levels is that injected insulin simply does not get to the ‘right’ places. Normal insulin has its main effects in the liver, but patients with Type 1 diabetes must inject insulin into the fat tissue. Doing so makes the insulin act very slowly, can lead to weight gain and can cause deadly low blood sugars. This project seeks to attach a molecule to insulin that can help direct it to the liver. In doing so, much of the normal physiology may be restored and patients may get better results.”
Pettus is working with the company Diasome to conduct a single center clinical study with 14 patients with Type 1 diabetes to test the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of the novel LTI.
If this study finds that the LTI is active and preferentially targeting the liver, the findings could spur research and development efforts in the LTI space, leading to additional clinical trials and eventually a novel insulin available that could help improve clinical outcomes.
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/2m-grant-drives-research-on-novel-insulin-in-type-1-diabetes
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Good news about A1c reduction in people with type 1.. but it’s limited for those with access to technology.
The new findings from a study involving patients at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes Adult Clinic between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2021. They show that as technology use has increased, A1c levels have dropped in parallel. Moreover, progression from use of stand-alone continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to automated insulin delivery systems (AIDs), which comprise insulin pumps and connected CGMs, furthered that progress.
On the flip side, A1c levels rose significantly over the study period among nonusers of technology. "We cannot rule out provider bias for not prescribing diabetes technology among those with higher A1c or from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds," Karakus and colleagues write.
Also of note, even with use of the most advanced AID systems available during the study period, just under half of patients were still not achieving A1c levels below 7%. "The technology helps, but it's not perfect," Shah observed.
This study is the first to examine the relationship of A1c with technology use over time, in contrast to prior cross-sectional studies. "The intention here was to look at the landscape over a decade," Shah said.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995738
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Can a parasite help with type 2 diabetes? This is kind of gross but very true.. In the first clinical trial of its kind, a team led by scientists from James Cook University in Australia inoculated volunteers with human hookworm larvae (Necator americanus) to see if these parasites can improve their metabolic health. The two-year study included 24 participants, each of whom showed heightened insulin resistance at the start of the trial.
By the end of the investigation, researchers found those who were infected with hookworms showed a significant reduction in their insulin resistance scores compared to those who were given a placebo.
In recent decades, scientists have noticed that in places where parasitic worms are endemic, people report fewer metabolic and inflammatory diseases. I’m sure I don’t have to say this – but more study is needed. No one is recommending you try to get a parasitic infection
https://www.sciencealert.com/radical-trial-shows-hookworms-may-protect-people-from-type-2-diabetes
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https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/simple-blood-test-may-predict-future-heart-kidney-risk-for-people-with-type-2-diabetes
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Exposure to air pollution early in pregnancy—and even shortly before conception—increases a woman's risk of developing gestational diabetes, according to a new USC study out in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas.
"Interestingly, we found gestational diabetes risk wasn't associated with long-term air pollution exposure but was associated with air pollution in a relatively short but critical periconceptional window, from five weeks before to five weeks after conception," said first author Zhongzheng "Jason" Niu, a postdoctoral fellow in population and public health science at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
The researchers also found the association between air pollution and gestational diabetes was more pronounced among study participants experiencing prenatal depression.
The mechanism connecting ambient air pollution and gestational diabetes remains unclear, researchers say, but an interplay among impaired glucose metabolism, inflammation and hormonal changes could be to blame. Prenatal depression, with disrupted immune and hormonal functions, could make the case worse.
https://news.usc.edu/209509/exposure-to-air-pollution-early-in-pregnancy-increases-risk-of-gestational-diabetes-study-finds/
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Commercial – Edgepark
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A look at Tandem’s bolus by phone feature shows it seems to be helping people with “low bolus frequency” give insulin more. Last year, the t:connect app was updated to allow people with the tslim x2 pump to initiate bolusing from a smart phone or the pump itself. This study looked at those who gave less than three boluses per day prior to the smartphone bolus update – the media number was 2.2. After the smartphone option, that number rose to 2.7.
https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/QYVHSJUZKND8JJAKRUTG/full
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Great story from Diabetes Daily about two brothers with type 1 who are creating a low or almost no sugar beer. This is in Ireland and I don’t know exactly how to explain it quickly..
“Normally, the reason that the beers have sugar in them – which is what will mess with your blood sugar levels – is that there are unfermentable sugars that remain in the beer, sugars that the yeast isn’t able to convert into alcohol. It’s just a byproduct of how you make it. But this enzyme glucoamylase actually breaks down these unfermentable sugars and makes them into fermentable sugars, so the yeast can convert all of the sugar into alcohol, and there will be no sugar left in the beer at all.
Brut beers are usually done in a clean, bitter, highly fizzy IPA style, almost like a beery champagne, but Seán has tried the glucoamylase in other recipes as well.
“Normally it’s only a pale ale or IPA that people put this enzyme into. But I really like German wheat beers. So I decided I’d try and make a wheat beer with this enzyme as well.”
“It did exactly what it was supposed to do. You end up with no sugar at the end, and a really tasty beer. So I’ve been doing it with a few others – a rye, and a Kolsch, and all the sugars completely ferment out.”
“We’ve had some fun in naming them as well. The first one, the IPA style, we call it Insulin, because it keeps the levels down. The wheat that I like to make we have now called Diawheaties.”
And his non-diabetic friends approve:
“Everyone seems to like it. They tend to be quite nice, easy-drinking beers. We wouldn’t make them just for the zero sugar if they were no good. They’re as good as the normal beers.”
https://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/how-two-irish-brothers-with-type-1-diabetes-brew-their-own-zero-sugar-beer-689869/
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MNO update
On the podcast next week.. tandem diabetes celebrity panel from friends for life – Hollywood, the NFL and NASCAR. Last week’s episode was Benny off to college
That’s In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.
It's one of the biggest milestones in my family’s experience with diabetes. Our son is off to college! I asked Benny to come on and talk about what’s on his mind, how he’s feeling and to answer your questions, including if he’s going to tell people he has T1D.
We also answer your questions about overnights, how we’ve prepared, our plan for share and follow and much more. I can’t believe this day is here!
This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
Our previous episodes with Benny: https://diabetes-connections.com/?s=benny
Don't miss Moms' Night Out - our next stops are in Texas, Rhode Island, & North Carolina
Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!
Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures
Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens
Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange
The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter here
Here's where to find us:
Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com
Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com
This week, figuring out which diabetes devices you want to use is hard enough.. but then you have to navigate insurance. There’s a new effort to streamline the process - a platform called DiabetesWise that’s available – for free - for patients and providers:
Korey Hood is the founder of DiabetesWise and he lives with type 1. We’ve talked about DiabetesWise before – but this insurance option is new. We talk specifics about how it can help, who it’s for and what else Korey has in store for the platform.
This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
Our previous episode with DiabetesWise: https://diabetes-connections.com/?s=diabeteswise
Learn more about Moms' Night Out!
Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!
Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures
Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens
Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange
The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter here
Here's where to find us:
Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com
Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com
For adults with type 1, an initial misdiagnosis of type 2 diabetes is unfortunately, all too common. What’s perhaps more unusual is what happened to this week’s guest who was correctly diagnosed by TikTok!
Justin Eastzer talks to me about the community support he found even before he was correctly diagnosed, how it led him to creating his own diabetes videos and content – you may know him better as Diabetech, and how his experience with cancer as a very young adult shaped his life.
This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.
Don't miss Moms' Night Out - a new event for moms of children with diabetes
Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!
Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures
Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens
Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange
The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter here
Here's where to find us:
Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com
Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com
It’s In the News, a look at the top stories and headlines from the diabetes community happening now. Top stories this week: a new pilot program will allow some pharmacists to prescribe CGMs, Georgia becomes the latest state to pass a law securing Glucagon for schools, new info about COVID-19 and new cases of T1D, insulin pump infusion set and skin reaction study, does kombucha tea lower blood glucose and more!
Moms' Night Out early bird specials will end soon for Texas and Rhode Island!
Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!
Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures
Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens
Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange
The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter here
Here's where to find us:
Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com
Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com
Transcription:
Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now
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In the news is brought to you by AG1. AG1 helps you build your health,
foundation first.
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New pilot program to allow pharmacists to prescribe CGMs. This comes from the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, with support from Helmsley Charitable Trust. While many patients with diabetes may not even have access to a primary care physician, the average person interacts with their community pharmacist 12x more often than their primary care provider. The program will launch in 20 community pharmacy practices across the U.S. There will be a 90-day enrollment period followed by 12 months of monitoring and management
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230720044367/en/The-APhA-Foundation-launches-patient-enrollment-for-a-program-to-expand-access-to-pharmacist-provided-continuous-glucose-monitoring-CGM-devices-and-services
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We told you recently about Mobi’s approval, that’s Tandem’s tiny pump, billed as the world’s smallest durable automated insulin delivery system. Convatec Group now saying they’ve partnered with Tandem on a new five-inch infusion set for the Mobi. Not a lot more information than that, but interesting because while Convatec makes infusion sets for just about every tubed pump, last year, Tandem acquired another infusion set developer, Capillary Biomedical.
https://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Article/2023/07/18/Convatec-to-manufacture-new-infusion-set-for-Tandem-Diabetes-Care
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New law in Georgia to make sure all schools have emergency glucagon on hand and that it can be used for any student. House Bill 440 took effect on July 1, 2023. It will allow public and private schools in Georgia to acquire and keep a supply of glucagon. It allows prescribers to provide standing orders or prescriptions for ready-to-use glucagon to schools so that this medication can be rapidly administered to students in an emergency. Schools will also be able to work directly with glucagon manufacturers or third-party suppliers to obtain the products for free or at fair market or reduced prices. In 2018 a school nurse in Illinois used another students glucagon on a different study having an emergency, breaking the law. It’s since been changed in Indiana and now, in Georgia. Disclaimer: the state rep who sponsored this bill, Doug Stoner is married to my dear friend Trip Stoner who lives with type 1.
https://www.thegeorgiavirtue.com/georgia-legislature/georgia-bill-to-help-schools-treat-hypoglycemic-emergencies-becomes-law/
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I think most of us know this but good to see research on it. A new study shows skin reactions at insulin pump infusion sites are common among people with type 1 diabetes who use the devices and can lead to delivery failure.
researchers at the University of Washington, in Seattle, used biopsies and noninvasive imaging to compare insulin pump sites with control sites in 30 patients. They found
Several differences were found at pump sites in comparison with control sites, including fibrosis, inflammation, eosinophils, a disease-fighting white blood cell which indicated an allergic reaction here.
The inflammatory response, they say, "may result in tissue changes responsible for the infusion site failures seen frequently in clinical practice." Nearly all patients (93.3%) reported itchiness at the site, and 76.7% reported skin redness.
While the researchers think preservatives in the insulin or the makeup of the infusion sets are probably to blame, they admit they don’t really understand it fully yet.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995068
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Very large new study seems to confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a jump in cases of type 1 diabetes in children and teenagers. This study pooled data from 17 previous studies and looked at 38-thousand people under the age of 19. They found the incidence of type 1 was about 14-percent higher during 2020, the first year of the pandemic, than in the previous year. The incidence rose higher still in the second year of the pandemic, up 27% from 2019.
Before COVID-19, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children was rising at a steady rate of around 2–4% a year.
The meta-analysis did reaffirm that children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes tended to present with more severe forms of disease during the pandemic than before. The incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of new-onset type 1 diabetes, rose by 26% from 2019 to 2020, probably because people were hesitant or unable to seek emergency care when early symptoms appeared.
It’s still unclear what triggered the sudden increase in diabetes and how long the trend might persist. It’s also important to keep in mind that a few researchers have spoken out that they believe the increase sounds implausible. And that Studies from Finland7, Scotland8 and Denmark9 could not directly link coronavirus infections to the increase in type 1 diabetes.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02322-0
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Commercial – AG1
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New research shows the best time to predict childhood type 1 diabetes is ages 2-6, when screening detects 80-percent of future cases. Research shows screening children ages 2-6 best predicts childhood type 1 diabetes, successfully detecting 80% of future cases. Early screening also leads to more timely treatment, better health outcomes, and less diabetes distress. These researchers reviewed findings that screened 90-thousand children under the age of 6 and 32-thousand children under 18. These researchers emphasized the need to work towards the adoption of universal screening at the state government, payer, and healthcare provider levels.
https://diatribe.org/early-diabetes-screening-kids-can-improve-quality-life
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Very small pilot study suggesting that kombucha reduces blood glucose levels in adults with type 2. I’m including this because you’ll likely hear a lot about it.. but keep in mind, the sample size was too small for statistical significance. A total of 12 participants with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to consume 240 mL of either a kombucha product or placebo daily with dinner for 4 weeks. They then waited 8 weeks and switched to the other product for another 4 weeks.
Kombucha significantly lowered average fasting blood glucose – on average from 164 to 116.
Kombucha tea is a fermented drink made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995035
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Afon, a Welsh based company, is working on a non-invasive glucose sensor that has the potential to revolutionize the way blood glucose levels are monitored.
We’ve heard these types of promises before, but are yet to see something materialise into a real-world product. With the development of optical sensors in the early 2010s, the concept of using technology to monitor glucose levels in a non-invasive manner was first brought up. Light is used by these sensors to obtain signals from beneath the skin. For several years, there has been discussion about incorporating such technology for glucose monitoring by smartwatches. Afon adopts an entirely different approach. Its blood glucose sensor is called Glucowear. It is an RF sensor that fits under the base of the wrist. The gizmo uses radio frequencies to obtain signals from beneath the skin. Unlike optical sensors this technology provides real-time monitoring with no time lag.
Hoping for a 2024 launch date
The company stated that they hope to have the device on the market by early 2024. This is an extremely optimistic goal given the stringent requirements imposed by health regulators. There is no information available on how well Afon is progressing with regulatory approval, and the company’s website makes no mention of the regulatory process. So far the Afon Blood Glucose Sensor has undergone three rounds of testing at Profil, a world-renowned diabetes research center in Germany. A multi-phase trial of this technology will be conducted at Swansea University’s Joint Clinical Research Facility (JCRF) later in 2023. There will also be other multi-site trials before the device hits retail in 2024. Glucowear delivers real-time continuous glucose monitoring through its wireless integration with a smart device. Designed to be placed under a user’s smartwatch, the sensor allows the said device to serve as an integral part of the monitoring system. Afon promotes the Glucowear as a comfortable wearable and ensures that the painless CGM has a battery lifespan of up to 14 days when fully charged.
https://gadgetsandwearables.com/2023/07/24/afon-blood-glucose-sensor/
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https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/cultureclinic/105707
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On the podcast next week.. talking to Justin, better known as DiabeTech, who was diagnosed with T1D by TikTok! Last week I talked to the author of Sweeite!
That’s In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.
It's almost time for back to school! How do you explain type 1 diabetes to students? I asked a preschool teacher whose daughter has t1d to talk about how to get the message through without scaring anyone.
Laura Self also has a great book our for kids called Sweetie. Her daughter, Hannah, was diagnosed at age 8 and is now 20. She spent the spring semester in Europe this year. Laura and I talk about how we tried to help our children find independence, confidence, and responsibility with diabetes.
Moms' Night Out is in three cities! Find out more before our early bird specials end.
Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible!
Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures
Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens
Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange
The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter:
Sign up for our newsletter here
Here's where to find us:
Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com
Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com