Greetings!

Welcome to the first edition of Yada Yada for 2012. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have had a great start to the new year so far!

In this edition, we introduce the 2012 leadership team and remind you about some T1DN resources you might not have seen. There is a short survey to allow you to give us feedback about Yada.

We also tell you about some really interesting research and a dog who high fives his owner when she has high sugar.

Two minute survey   

We'd love to find out more about our readers and get feedback on what you like about Yada and what you might like to see in future editions. We really value your input so it would be great if you could take a couple of minutes to fill out a short survey, which will remain online until the end of February.

Changing leadership team

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Do you know all the things T1DN does?

We have great plans for 2012 with a focus on supporting the dissemination of the new clinical care guidelines that we have been talking about for a while now (most recently last month).

We thought the new year was a good opportunity to remind you of some of the great things that T1DN does in addition to producing Yada. All these resources are part of our mission to provide support, information and a voice for people with type 1.

• Discussion forums - Reality Check which is a place for people to chat about all things type 1 related and Munted Pancreas for parents/carers of children with type 1
• Information about living with diabetes - including the Starter kit for newly diagnosed adults with type 1 and a guide for pregnancy with diabetes   
• An online learning module to help health professionals understand what it is like to live with type 1
• A list of recommended health professionals - We would like to keep this list up to date; so if you have had a great experience with a health professional, please let us know.

Stem cell treatment restarts insulin production

Researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago, have used stem cells to 'educate' the immune cells of people with type 1 diabetes.

In a trial involving 15 people, the treatment reduced insulin requirements by 25-38% and also reduced HbA1c levels. Insulin requirements remained lower even 40 weeks after the treatment. Most interestingly, there was evidence that insulin was now produced in the pancreas of patients who previously had no insulin production!

This trial only involved a single treatment with the 're-educated' immune cells, but studies are planned with multiple treatments to see if the effects are enhanced. While it is only an early-stage trial, this is exciting research.

Molecule vital for beta cell survival found

Last month we reported on some promising research into a molecule that prevented the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice.

Now, researchers at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra have identified a complex sugar called heparan sulfate that is necessary for the survival of beta cells (the cells which produce insulin in the pancreas).

Supplying additional heparan sulfate to beta cells reduced the destruction of beta cells in mice and hence prevented the onset of type 1. Research continues into this process, with the potential to develop drugs that could go into clinical trials. It's still very early days but it's good to know that this kind of research is continuing and with some success.

You can read more about this research here or access the full journal article from the Journal of Clinical Investigation.  

• Ooops... school holidays 
• Just have to share - eye test 
• New to pumping 
• 8 years with D 

From everyone at  

The Type 1 Diabetes Network