It’s “In the News…” a look at the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. This week: Michigan joins California in exploring producing and distributing insulin made in-state, new study looks at why girls have a harder time with T1D than boys, weekly basal insulin moves forward, Dexcom puts G7 in wider release (but not yet in the US) and more!
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Episode Transcription Below (or coming soon!)
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Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days.
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In the news is brought to you by T1D Exchange! T1D Exchange is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for the entire T1D population.
https://t1dexchange.org/stacey/
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Michigan following California when it comes to exploring making and distributing insulin. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive this week to establish a Michigan-based insulin manufacturing facility, and facilitate the development, in conjunction with a partner or partners, of a low-cost insulin product for distribution in Michigan. Whitmer already announced a plan to cap insulin costs in her State of the State address in January.
https://michiganadvance.com/blog/whitmer-signs-directive-seeking-to-lower-insulin-costs-wins-bipartisan-praise/
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Novo Nordisk plans to move forward with its once a week insulin icodec. Recent studies show it worked as well or better than daily basal insulin, reducing A1C after 52 weeks.
Novo Nordisk’s ONWARDS program for once-weekly insulin icodec comprises six phase 3a global clinical trials, including a trial with RWE involving more than 4,000 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
It is expected that Novo Nordisk will file for regulatory approval of the once-weekly insulin icodec in the first half of 2023 in the US, the EU, and in China.
There is a separate and additional study for people with type 1 – looking at weekly insulin icodec wth mealtime insulin. That’s expected to conclude in about six months.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/novo-nordisk-achieve-headline-results-with-icodec-insulin/
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Big new study shows that girls tend to have more serious issues with type 1 diabetes than boys. This is physical, quantifiable stuff, including higher blood sugar levels, weight issues, and higher cholesterol. This was a review of 90 previous studies at Amsterdam University Medical Centers. that women and girls have typically not received as much attention as study subjects as men. These researchers say more study is needed including finding ways to help doctors treat girls with type I diabetes differently than boys
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-type-1-diabetes-can-be-tougher-on-girls-than-boys
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Alarming new study says that cases of type 1 worldwide could double by 2040. Tracking has improved in recent years, but Type 1 diabetes is underrepresented. In addition, because many countries don’t collect Type 1 diabetes data, the numbers have historically skewed toward North America and Europe. About 175,000 people worldwide died because of Type 1 diabetes in 2021, they believe, and 63 to 70 percent of the deaths in those under age 25 occurred because the disease wasn’t diagnosed. This study is in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/10/03/diabetes-type-one-surge/
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Big new study looking at which drugs paired with Metformin work the best for type 2. The trial was conducted at 36 study centers nationwide with more than 5000 people. Three groups took metformin plus a medicine that increased insulin levels: sitagliptin or Januvia, liraglutide or Victoza, or glimepiride or Amaryl. The fourth group took metformin and a long acting insulin.
After about five years of follow-up, the researchers found that all four drugs improved blood glucose levels when added to metformin. But those taking metformin plus liraglutide or the long-acting insulin achieved and maintained their target blood levels for the longest time. The effects of treatment did not differ with age, sex, race, or ethnicity.
However, none of the combinations overwhelmingly outperformed the others.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/popular-diabetes-drugs-compared-large-trial
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Dexcom’s G7 is getting a wider rollout: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Hong Kong, with launches in New Zealand and South Africa in the coming weeks. I’ll link up the promotional video.. no news yet from the US FDA on when the G7 will be approved in the US. I am talking to Dexcom’s Senior Director of Global Product Design for Tuesday’s podcast episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqNUf0paAU
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Tandem’s t:connect mobile app is now compatible with the latest iOS operating system on version 2.3 of the t:connect mobile app. Until this update, you could lose the mobile bolus if you updated your phone. Tandem also added a new iPhone and nine new android devices to their compatibility list. We’ll link that up in the show notes.
: https://www.tandemdiabetes.com/.../device-compatibility
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Back to the news in a moment but first..
The T1D Exchange Registry is a research study conducted online over time, designed to foster innovation and improve the lives of people with T1D. The platform is open to both adults and children with T1D living in the U.S. Personal information remains confidential and participation is fully voluntary. Once enrolled, participants will complete annual surveys and have the opportunity to sign up for other studies on specific topics related to T1D. The registry aims to improve knowledge of T1D, accelerate the discovery and development of new treatments and technologies, and generate evidence to support policy or insurance changes that help the T1D community. By sharing opinions, experiences and data, patients can help advance meaningful T1D treatment, care and policy.
The registry is now available on the T1D Exchange website and is simple to navigate, mobile and user-friendly. For more information or to register, go to www.t1dregistry.org/stacey
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The College Diabetes Network announces a name change – they’ll now be known as the Diabetes Link. The groups says this new name reflects a commitment to expand support to the larger young adult diabetes community, whatever the type of diabetes they live with and whether they’re in school or in the workforce. Currently, there are 3 million young adults (ages 17-30) living with diabetes in the U.S. and that number continues to increase every day. The Diabetes Link is the only national organization that focuses specifically on people in their teens and twenties, in recognition that this time of their lives is full of enough change and challenges without a chronic disease added to the mix.
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And finally, another zoo animal with a CGM. Tiana is a lemur in New Zeleand. The zoo’s education officer, has diabetes and recommended the Dexcom for the lemur. Interestingly, they aren’t using insulin here, but rather a hypoglycemia medication and are altering the lemur’s diet. Apparently lemurs are prone to something more like type 2 diabetes due to some iron issues or if they eat too much sugar, but Tiana’s case more resembles type 1.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130016440/meet-tiana-the-diabetic-lemur-with-a-glucose-monitor-stuck-to-her-back#:~:text=Hamilton%20Zoo%20resident%20lemur%2C%20Tiana,with%20diabetes%20in%20the%20zoo.&text=Zoo%20vet%20Tori%20Turner%20says,Hamilton%20has%20joined%20the%20club.
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On the podcast next week.. Dexcom’s Senior Director of Global Product Design – Very We’ll talk about what goes into designing a comletley new product like the G7. He lives with type 1 himself.
This past episode is all about how diabetes communities around the world stayed connected during the early days of the pandemic,
Listen wherever you get your podcasts
Hey for you parents, we’ve got a webinar on Halloween, link in the show notes and on my social media.
That’s In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.