Greetings!

Hello and welcome to this year's final Yada! The year has gone quickly and we have achieved plenty at the Type 1 Diabetes Network, including the launch of an online learning module for health professionals, getting a new leadership team up and running, and having input into the new national evidence-based clinical care guidelines for type 1 diabetes.

With this newsletter, we wrap up the year with an update on those new clinical guidelines, a story about a very successful young adult transition program, a recent research article that grabbed our interest, and a report on our representation of type 1 at the recent Diabetes Australia National Diabetes Policy Forum.

Oh, and we finish off on a lighter note with a video that's guaranteed to make you chuckle!

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New national evidence-based clinical care guidelines for Type 1 Diabetes 

For the first time ever, type 1 diabetes clinical care guidelines that cover a person's whole lifetime have been developed in Australia - guidelines have previously existed for children and adolescents but never for adults.

The guidelines were prepared by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group (APEG) and the Australian Diabetes Society (ADS) and will support health professionals and people with type 1 diabetes in the management of this condition. They were launched on World Diabetes Day, 14 November 2011 - very timely!

Earlier in the year, as we mentioned to you, we were very happy to have the opportunity to review the draft guidelines. Now, we are involved in a working group that is looking at how to get the key messages from the guidelines out to consumers and health professionals. We will keep you updated on this!

If you'd like to check out the guidelines yourself, you can download them from here or here.

(Source: APEG/ADEA Guidelines Press Release )

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For more information visit www.abbottdiabetescare.com.au

An example of a new successful young adult transition program 

At the recent 2011 ADS-ADEA conference in Perth, we heard about a new young adult transition program being run at the Nepean Health Service in NSW. We thought it was a fine example of what could be done nationally. A transition program is where teenagers with type 1 are transitioned from paediatric care into the adult health care sector.

The program works by actively recruiting young adults in the local community who have type 1. These people are sent a letter or given information by their endocrinologist explaining the new program and asking whether they would like to sign up. Within 2 years, the number of young adults attending the Health Service diabetes clinic grew from 42 to 220.

The program uses hospital admissions for diabetes ketoacidosis as the key measure for success, and, to date, it has had reductions in admissions equating to an estimated cost saving of $790,000. Impressive! Part of this may be due to having a diabetic educator on call evenings and weekends for all patients who attend the clinic. This is such a great success story about the complicated process of transition.

New molecule discovered that prevents T1 in mice - and in human cells

Picture by Paul

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that a specific molecule (glyphosine) prevents the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice, by interfering with the process of islet cell destruction. Encouragingly, this molecule had the same effect on cells from people who have diabetes.

Based on this two-and-a-half-year study, the researchers say it may be possible to screen people who are likely to develop type 1 diabetes, and begin treatment with molecules like glyphosine to prevent the onset of the disease. Studies would need to be done in humans to understand the effects better. You can read more about this exciting research here.

(Source: Science Daily)

To discuss how to better manage diabetes, Diabetes Australia recently invited 85 Australian diabetes experts to attend the National Diabetes Policy Forum, held on World Diabetes Day - including us!

Despite being a diabetes event, the discussions, unsurprisingly, focused mainly on type 2. But we're pleased to say there was a small contingent of type 1 advocates and supporters. After expressing our concern on the lack of type 1 support, we were glad to be given the opportunity to have our voices heard!

The type 1 crew highlighted the following:

• while T1D is only 10-15% of the total diabetes statistic, its cost to Australia is approximately 42% of the total diabetes cost
• while prevention is the focus of type 2 diabetes, greater resourcing and collaboration to help prevent long-term problems should be the focus for type 1
• greater importance needs to be placed on addressing the impact of type 1 diabetes on mental health.

• Ideas for lunchbox 
• Loving pump 
• Junk food at school 
• Sugar free sports drinks 

From everyone at  

The Type 1 Diabetes Network