In the News.. T1D gene replacement therapy, BG finger scan, insulin on Olympic skis and more!

It's In the News... the only Diabetes newscast! This week learn about: The DIY #WeAreNotWaiting movement gets a medical write up in the Lancet, a big move for #T1D stem cell therapy and identifying the cause behind a common #T2D condition. We also look at coffee & gestational diabetes and find out why the molecular structure of insulin pictured on an Olympic-hopeful's skis -- Join Stacey LIVE every Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom! Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group! Sign up for our newsletter here ----- Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! ----- Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go! Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android Episode transcription below: 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. As always, I'm going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. XX In the News is brought to you by The World's Worst Diabetes Mom, Real life stories of raising a child with diabetes. Bit of breaking news here.. we just found out today we won a pretty big deal prize. American Book Fest announced The World's Worst Diabetes Mom is the winner of their Best New Non-Fiction category! Huge thanks to the judges and to Spark Publications. How about that? You can find the book – it's my book if that's not clear - in paperback, on Kindle or as an audio book – all at Amazon.com. -- XX Our top story.. a stamp of professional approval for the do it yourself #WeAreNotWaiting movement. Over 40 doctors, legal experts, and other healthcare professionals published a consensus statement in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious and respected medical journals. The authors conclude: "Although we do not suggest that open-source AID systems be universally recommended over commercial options, strong ethical reasons support the use of open-source AID systems, with safety and effectiveness data derived from real-world evidence." Essentially, they say it's time for the medical industry to take these methods seriously, and to establish some standards and protocols to help further access and safe use. https://mashable.com/article/doctors-approve-diy-diabetes-tech-treatments XX Stem cell therapy for type 1 moves forward. CRISPR therapeutics and Viactye announce approval for a clinical trial application. We've covered this before and talked to ViaCyte on the podcast. They've been moving forward with stem cell research and you may know Crispr as a gene editing platform. The idea is that together these companies could find a functional cure for type 1. This is a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to look at safety and efficacy. They expect to start enrolling patients by the end of the year. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crispr-therapeutics-viacyte-inc-start-133000366.html XX A new study suggests a lack of a specific molecule in red blood cells may be the root cause of vascular problems in people with type 2. Red blood cells are important for many reasons, one of which is maintaining what's called cardiovascular equilibrium. This is partly achieved through the production of nitric oxide. This is a problem in people with type 2 and these researchers speculate it's because they have much less of something called micro-RNA-210 than those without diabetes. Interestingly, blood sugar control through medication appeared to cause no major improvement here – it didn't affect the red blood cells. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/scientists-identify-new-cause-of-vascular-injury-in-type-2-diabetes XX Good news for pregnant coffee lovers: Consuming a low amount of caffeine during pregnancy could help to reduce gestational diabetes. This is one of those confusing health issues that seem to change every year.. right? Drink more coffee, drink less coffee.. this study says if you're already drinking coffee or any caffeine, about two cups a day is just fine and may reduce your risk of gestational diabetes. If you're not already a coffee drinker, there's really no reason to start. There were no statistically significant differences in blood pressure, preeclampsia, or hypertension between those who did and did not drink caffeine during pregnancy. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211111/Low-amount-of-caffeine-intake-during-pregnancy-may-help-reduce-gestational-diabetes-risk.aspx XX The government of Japan announced this week that a company there has developed quote - the world's first blood glucose level sensor that requires no blood sampling. The sensor uses cutting-edge laser technology for a much brighter infrared laser, enabling anyone to hold a fingertip over its light for about 5 seconds to easily measure their blood glucose levels. The company is now working on mass production. Not a lot of info here but the website says 2023 is their goal for launch. http://www.light-tt.co.jp/?lang=en&fbclid=IwAR0h6rlJKXwxEuUDQ8O0_KFYLCg885_pITiVE9xPjgsIXLPCaK9cuJntjSo XX Scotland has become the world's first country to begin routine testing of C-peptide levels in patients with type 1 diabetes. Couple of goals here they say… first to identify people who have retained robust natural insulin production and second.. to see some who might not have type 1 at all. C-peptide is a substance that is created as a byproduct of natural insulin production. A preliminary study looked at 850 people with type 1 and found that about 13% had more than what's thought to be the usual expectation of insulin production. They also found that 5.1% were reclassified to type 2 diabetes and 1.6% were reclassified to monogenic diabetes. Many of those people didn't need to take insulin any more. One quick note – I've seen this article floating around which says that half of the people in this study did NOT have type one. That's not the case at all. The only thing I can think is that someone misread the 5.1% reclassified to type 2 and misread it as 51%? But it's a tiny number. Many more people are misdiagnosed as type 2 when they have LADA or type 1. https://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/why-scotland-is-now-testing-the-c-peptide-levels-of-everyone-with-type-1-diabetes-691720/ XX Finally Something really unique for Diabetes Month. A ski company has created a custom set – with the pattern of the chemical composition of insulin. I'll show it here and in the FB group for those listening.. Lauren Salko is a cross racer who lives with type 1. Elan Skis worked with her to design the skis and they're donating all the profits to Children with Diabetes.. It's the Limited edition Ripstick 94 W ski. Lauren Salko has an eye on next year's Olympics.. we'll be watching. https://elanskis.com/lauren-salko quick reminder that the podcast this week is all about less stress for the holidays. It's an ask the D-Moms and guys.. I got an amazing message from a mom who said she quote – cried tears of relief listening to it. I remember how tough it is at first.. but really, we can make great memories and worry less. Let the Dmoms help! you can listen to wherever you get your podcasts or if you're listening to this as on a podcast app, just go back an episode. That's In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.