Setting the record straight

Type 1 diabetes is a devastating autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin. People with diabetes need to test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin through injections or a pump multiple times per day — every day for the rest of their lives. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent possible complications — which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, amputation, and pregnancy complications.

"Managing type 1 diabetes is a 24/7 job that they did not sign up for."

Life with T1D

T1D is incredibly difficult to live with and manage. While trying to balance insulin doses with their food intake and daily activities, people with this form of diabetes must always be prepared for serious hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, both of which can be life-limiting and life-threatening.

This disease not only takes a physical toll, but also a mental one. People living with T1D often have stress and anxiety over proper management; they fear the possible life-threatening complications and can never take a break from the disease. Managing type 1 diabetes is a 24/7 job that they did not sign up for.  

Moving research forward

JDRF’s mission to turn type one into type none is the driving force behind all of its research initiatives. Various JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network (CCTN) funded trials that are currently underway, such as the Artificial Pancreas Project, aim to take the stress of managing type 1 diabetes off the individual.

On October 29, 2014, JDRF announced that a JDRF-funded partner, ViaCyte, Inc., has for the first time ever implanted a person with T1D with an experimental encapsulated cell therapy product, which is being developed for the treatment of T1D. Encapsulated cell therapies have the potential to transform the lives of people with T1D by restoring their independence from insulin injections and reducing concerns of the complications that arise from living with the disease.

JDRF Canada has been a part of amazing advancements in diabetes research over the past 40 years, but the work is not over yet.  That is why JDRF Canada is committed to continuing to fund ground-breaking research that will improve the lives of every person living with T1D, and ultimately find a cure.