Participants of the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes make the difference. Each year, nearly half of the research funding awarded is raised by you, our Walk participants. As the Walks grow, so to do the number of advancements we are making in achieving our goal to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes. Here are a few examples.
- This year a JDRF funded clinical trial for a drug called Lucentis finished the final phases of trials and will be on the market next year. Lucentis prevents and reverses diabetic macular edema, the leading cause of blindness for people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- In the past year we’ve had advances in understanding what may cause the autoimmune attacks. Scientists discovered that people with type 1 diabetes may have a different makeup of microbes that live in the human digestive tract. By studying the collection of genes within the microbiome and assessing their functions, researchers hope to understand if, and how, an altered microbiome contributes to autoimmunity and the onset of type 1 diabetes.
- In the search for better treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes, scientists have been trying for decades to understand how existing beta cells regenerate. JDRF-funded researchers have identified a key signal that prompts existing insulin-producing beta cells to make new beta cells in mice, a breakthrough discovery that may ultimately help researchers find ways to stimulate the same process in people with type 1 diabetes.
These are just a few examples of the progress that your participation in the Walk to Cure Diabetes has made possible. We can’t wait to see what you will make possible with this year’s Walk.
If you have not yet signed up for the 2011 Walk, it’s not too late! Sign up today >
