TYPE 1 DIABETES
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin. People with this disease must inject themselves with insulin in order to stay alive. They must carefully monitor their blood sugar, and also balance their food intake and exercise. Long-term complications of type 1 diabetes include disabling or even life-threatening organ damage, including heart disease, kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage.
More than one million Americans have type 1
diabetes, and the worldwide incidence of the disease is growing with the
greatest increase in children under five-years-old. The disease accounts for 5
to 10 percent of all diagnosed diabetes in the United States.
Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes,
usually occurs in children or young adults and is especially prevalent among
people of Northern European heritage. Additionally, family members of someone
who has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are 15 times more likely to develop
the disease themselves.
RESEARCH ADVANCES
For the
past two decades, BRI has served as a worldwide leader in research to diagnose,
prevent, treat and cure type 1 diabetes. BRI scientists have accounted for some
of the substantial discoveries in the field, including the identification of
diabetes susceptibility genes, descriptions of the properties of
diabetes-associated immune cells and the development of laboratory and clinical
tools to study disease progression and response to therapy. Research at BRI to
fight the disease includes:
Clinical Trials
Researchers
focus on the prevention and early treatment of type 1 diabetes. BRI’s T1D
clinical trials emphasize intervention studies with the goal
of preserving insulin secretion in individuals newly diagnosed with type 1
diabetes. Insulin production has been associated with reduction in severe
hypoglycemia and complications, suggesting that intervention even after
diagnosis is likely to have significant benefit for people with diabetes.
.