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Greetings!
Welcome to a new year and a new edition of Yada Yada. We hope you had a great Christmas and have managed to stay a little comfortable in the extreme heat Australia has had recently.
2013 will be another busy year for T1DN, with a brand new edition of our starter kit coming soon and more advocacy work throughout the year.
In this edition we look at the first images of insulin binding to its receptor and discuss the difficulties young adults face when transitioning to adult diabetes care as well as much more.
Our next webinar, where dietitian Sally Marchini will talk about type 1 and coeliac disease is on 4 Feb. Register here. There's more information below.
The Reality Check forum has gone past the 100 000 post mark! That's a lot of discussion, support and justified grumbling about type 1 diabetes. Thanks to everyone who makes RC such a vibrant community. We also now have over 1600 followers on Twitter.
 
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Images of insulin's 'handshake' with receptor
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In research that received a lot of media attention earlier this month, Australian researchers produced the first 3D images of insulin binding to its receptor.
The images showed that both insulin and the receptor change their shape to bind together. Knowing the exact nature of this shape change is really important because it tells researchers precisely how insulin interacts with cells. This may enable the development of new modified insulins that are more effective, e.g. longer acting, with better peak profile, or with no need for refrigeration, which could be beneficial in developing countries.
ABC News has video of an interview with lead researcher Assoc. Prof. Mike Lawrence including a brief look at a model of insulin and its receptor.
The abstract and some images from the Nature article are available from the Nature website.
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*****************Sponsored Announcement*****************
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For more information go to http://www.accu-chek.com.au/mobile
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T1DN webinar with dietitian Sally Marchini
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We are hosting the next in T1DN's series of webinars sponsored by the OneTouch Verio IQ meter on 4 Feb at 8 pm AEDT (Sydney time). Our guest speaker is dietitian Sally Marchini who will talk about living with diabetes and coeliac disease from her personal experience with the two conditions and from her expertise as a dietitian. Sally's website has more info and you can follow her on Twitter @SallyMDietitian.
You need to register for the webinar in advance here. After registering, you'll receive an email telling you how to join the webinar. Don't miss out on what will be a great discussion! All you need to participate is an internet connection and audio speakers or earphones.
Can't make the webinar or wish to add to your webinar experience? Make sure you check out the T1DN twitter page, where we will be live tweeting the webinar. We also welcome your thoughts for future webinars. Please tweet them to us or post them on our Facebook page.
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*****************Sponsored Announcement*****************
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For more information go to www.freestyleinsulinx.com.au
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The difficulties of transition
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The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a report called Diabetes among young Australians on how people under 30 managed their diabetes over the last decade. The report showed that over 24 000 Australians under 30 now have T1, and identified the 19-24 year old age group as an area where management and support may need to improve.
19-24 year olds used less blood testing strips than other age groups (2.5-3.5 a day on average), suggesting that diabetes management may be a low priority for them or perhaps they are finding it difficult to make the transition from paediatric to adult diabetes care. People under 25 were also more likely to be hospitalised for acute complications such as ketoacidosis.
We know that diabetes presents unique demands and that young adults need support and understanding while they take on the responsibility of managing their T1 and minimising the risk of future complications. Many states now run transition programs to help people through this period and the diabetes online community, including forums like Reality Check, can play an important role in providing peer support.
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*****************Sponsored Announcement*****************
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For more information go to Roche pump therapy
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Do high-fat meals require more insulin?
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 Research published in Diabetes Care reported that high-fat meals can increase blood sugar levels and insulin requirements more than their carbohydrate levels would suggest. This is thought to be due to fatty foods impairing insulin sensitivity.
The researchers compared meals with identical carb and protein content but different amounts of fat (60 g and 10 g). After eating the high-fat meal, T1s required more insulin, but even with this extra insulin still spent more time with high sugar levels. However, individuals had large differences between how fat affected their insulin requirements so, like all diabetes management, this effect will be different for everyone.
This means that fat content may be an important consideration for insulin doses as calculations based solely on carbohydrates may not give consistent results.
Have you noticed fatty meals sending your sugar levels higher than you expected? We'd love to hear about your experience on our Reality Check forum.
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Type 1s in the spotlight: Bret Michaels
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Throughout this year, we're going to profile people in the public eye who also have type 1 diabetes - athletes, musicians, actors, writers and politicians.
Our first profile is of Bret Michaels, lead singer of 80s/90s glam metal band Poison (For those young enough to have no idea who Poison is think 'Every rose has its thorn' and 'Unskinny bop'). Bret was diagnosed with T1D in 1970 at age 6, and his type 1 status became public after he collapsed on stage in the 80s due to a hypo.
 After fronting and touring with one of the world's biggest bands, Bret has done some solo work and been active in raising awareness and donations for diabetes. He recently won the third series of Celebrity Apprentice in the US and earned $640,000 for the American Diabetes Association in the process. He has also set up the Life Rocks Foundation that runs camps for kids with T1 and donates to diabetes research.
At a smaller scale of band, on the Diabetes Self-management blog Scott Coulter is journalling his band's tour across the US and how he manages his type 1 on the tour bus. It's an interesting insight into life on the road with T1.
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Meet ups and events
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Type 1 Diabetes Capricorn Connection (T1DCC)
T1DCC invites all T1s and their support people to attend their next meeting in Rockhampton on 2 Feb. The guest speaker is podiatrist Andrew Crutch, who will talk about how diabetes affects the feet and potential warning signs for people with diabetes. Check out the Reality Check post for more information.
World Diabetes Congress 2013 in Melbourne
Registration for the World Diabetes Congress in Melbourne that runs 2-6 Dec 2013 is now open. There's still a long time to go, but it's really exciting that this international event is in Australia this year. We are hoping to be involved and will bring you more information as the date gets closer.
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Quick shots
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Hot topics on the Reality Check online forum include:
On Munted Pancreas, parents of kids with D are discussing:
You can keep up to date with what's going on in the diabetes world by following us on Facebook or Twitter.
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Thanks for reading, and don't forget you can always send us your feedback and comments by replying to this email.See you next time!
From everyone at The Type 1 Diabetes Network |
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