Treatment

JDRF is continually striving to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, with the ultimate goal of delivering a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications.

For those who are living with type 1 diabetes, JDRF is helping to fund research into new devices and therapies to optimise glucose control and better manage and prevent the complications of diabetes.
THE BASIC CHALLENGE

Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Despite significant advances in the treatment of type 1 diabetes over the past 30 years, glucose control remains a tremendous challenge. People with the disease must constantly think about how they are managing the disease with finger prick blood glucose testing, and injections or a constant infusion of insulin through an insulin pump.
Research shows that people with type 1 diabetes spend a very significant portion of the day either hyperglycaemic (too high blood sugar levels) or hypoglycaemic (too low blood sugar levels), with severe episodes of this potentially being fatal.
Previous JDRF research has proven that there is a link between glucose control and both the onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, and diabetic neuropathy (eye disease, nerve disease and kidney disease). We also know that there are significant benefits of intensive glucose management in reducing cardiovascular disease.
Fortunately, the risk of developing diabetes-related health complications continues to decrease. However, normal blood glucose level control can still be very difficult to achieve and the management of diabetes remains a difficult daily task for people with type 1 diabetes as well as their loved ones.
JDRF is driving the discovery, development and delivery of devices and drugs that improve glucose control, reduce the burden of type 1 diabetes, improve health-related quality of life, and prevent diabetic complications. Our “Treat” research priorities in FY14 focus on:
  • Conducting outpatient studies of the artificial pancreas
  • Developing faster-acting insulin and drugs to improve glucose control, including glucose-responsive insulin
  • Reducing the risk of developing T1D-related complications