DRC & Research News

This page shares the latest news in T1D research and DRC’s community.

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Metformin Medicine - medication concept

Metformin May Support Insulin Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes

Managing diabetes can be a very tedious process. Individuals must be vigilant about monitoring diet and exercise and how it affects their blood glucose levels. Insulin must be correctly dosed and administered to counteract these effects. Even with careful tracking, some individuals still have difficulty managing their type 1 diabetes and develop insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and other complications.

Typically metformin is a medication prescribed for those with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes to increase insulin sensitivity and insulin action. However, a recent study examined the effects of combining metformin with insulin therapy to treat individuals with type 1 diabetes who had poorly controlled blood glucose levels despite intensive insulin therapy. The study was small, involving 58 individuals with T1D who had comparable characteristics in terms of age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, lipids, hypertension, body weight, insulin dose requirement, duration of diabetes, and other factors.

Twenty-nine participants continued to receive insulin therapy alone, while the other 29 received a combination of metformin and insulin therapy. The study, which lasted one year, found that those in the metformin-insulin group required a lower dose of insulin after one year (a decrease of 0.03 IU/kg/d) compared to those in the insulin only group who actually required a higher dose of insulin (an increase of 0.11 IU/kg/d).  The metformin-insulin group also saw a decrease in metabolic syndrome prevalence, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) compared to the insulin only group.

A larger study is necessary to further evaluate long-term effects, glucose control, insulin sensitivity, and other factors related to effectively managing type 1 diabetes. However, the study sheds light on the potential benefits of combining metformin with insulin therapy for not just individuals with type 2 diabetes, but those with type 1 diabetes as well.

The Diabetes Research Connection (DRC) is interested to see what this could mean for future diabetes management strategies and approaches to helping those with poor glucose control despite intensive insulin therapy. The DRC supports novel research studies on type 1 diabetes by early-career scientists and provides critical funding for these projects. To learn more about current projects or find out how to help, visit Our Projects.

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OUR PROJECTS

See our approved research projects and campaigns.

Role of the integrated stress response in type 1 diabetes pathogenesis
In individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the insulin-producing beta cells are spontaneously destroyed by their own immune system. The trigger that provokes the immune system to destroy the beta cells is unknown. However, accumulating evidence suggest that signals are perhaps first sent out by the stressed beta cells that eventually attracts the immune cells. Stressed cells adapt different stress mitigation systems as an adaptive response. However, when these adaptive responses go awry, it results in cell death. One of the stress response mechanisms, namely the integrated stress response (ISR) is activated under a variety of stressful stimuli to promote cell survival. However, when ISR is chronically activated, it can be damaging to the cells and can lead to cell death. The role of the ISR in the context of T1D is unknown. Therefore, in this DRC funded study, we propose to study the ISR in the beta cells to determine its role in propagating T1D.
Wearable Skin Fluorescence Imaging Patch for the Detection of Blood Glucose Level on an Engineered Skin Platform
zhang
A Potential Second Cure for T1D by Re-Educating the Patient’s Immune System
L Ferreira
Validating the Hypothesis to Cure T1D by Eliminating the Rejection of Cells From Another Person by Farming Beta Cells From a Patient’s Own Stem Cells
Han Zhu
Taming a Particularly Lethal Category of Cells May Reduce/Eliminate the Onset of T1D
JRDwyer 2022 Lab 1
Can the Inhibition of One Specific Body Gene Prevent Type 1 Diabetes?
Melanie
Is Cholesterol Exacerbating T1D by Reducing the Functionality and Regeneration Ability of Residual Beta Cells?
Regeneration Ability of Residual Beta Cells
A Call to Question… Is T1D Caused by Dysfunctionality of Two Pancreatic Cells (β and α)?
Xin Tong
Novel therapy initiative with potential path to preventing T1D by targeting TWO components of T1D development (autoimmune response and beta-cell survival)
flavia pecanha