The American Diabetes Association and JDRF Join Forces to Identify What is Known – and Unknown – About Diagnosing and Treating Type 1 Diabetes from Birth to Senior Years

Contact:
Colleen Fogarty, American Diabetes Association, (703) 549-1500 ext. 2146
Tara Wilcox-Ghanoonparvar, JDRF, 212-479-7524; twilcox-ghanoonparvar@jdrf.org

Alexandria, VA and New York, NY (April 17, 2013) – The American Diabetes Association and JDRF have teamed up to release a new book that will help clinicians better understand the best and most recent research on how to diagnose and treat type 1 diabetes, as well as where the biggest gaps lie in our knowledge of this type of diabetes, which is growing at epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world.

“There is a critical need to focus specifically on our knowledge of type 1 diabetes, because most of our clinical standards of care are really based largely on what we know about type 2 diabetes, since it is the most common form of this disease. However, type 1 and type 2, while similar, are not identical diseases and do not call for identical treatment, nor are prevention strategies the same,” said Anne L. Peters, MD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and author of the book. “What we wanted to do was create the definitive type 1 atlas, or guide, for people living with this disease to cover their health needs from ages zero to 95+ years, not relying on type 2 data but looking at what we know specifically about type 1 – and what we don’t know.”

For example, said Peters, who is the director of the University of Southern California Clinical Diabetes Program, people with type 1 diabetes, who are on insulin, may need to test their blood glucose levels 10 times or more a day, whereas someone with type 2 diabetes would likely need to test less often. “This book is really trying to be a roadmap of sorts for people with type 1, separate from type 2.”

Roughly 5-10 percent of the nearly 26 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes, which is typically (though not always) diagnosed in childhood. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body can no longer produce insulin, as compared to type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or fails to properly use the insulin it does produce. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity and being overweight, whereas type 1 diabetes is not linked to weight.

The American Diabetes Association/JDRF Type 1 Diabetes Sourcebook serves as both an evidence-based reference work outlining the most critical components of care for individuals with type 1 diabetes throughout their lifespan. The volume serves not only as a comprehensive guide for clinicians, but also reviews the evidence supporting these components of care and provides a perspective on the critical areas of research that are needed to improve our understanding of type 1 diabetes diagnosis and treatment.

To accomplish the book’s editorial goals, Editors-in-Chief, Drs. Anne Peters and Lori Laffel, assembled an editorial steering committee of prominent research physicians, clinicians and educators to develop the topical coverage. In addition, a Managing Editor (Jane Chiang, MD) joined the project to help the authors write and focus their chapters.

“The book is of particular importance because type 1 diabetes is increasing epidemically worldwide,” said Laffel, MD, MPH. Laffel is Chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Section at the Joslin Clinic, and an Investigator in the Section on Genetics and Epidemiology at the Joslin Diabetes Center (Boston), as well as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “There has been a doubling of the number of youth diagnosed annually with type 1 in the last 25 years, and it is expected to double yet again in the next 15-20 years.”

Laffel said that identifying research and knowledge gaps was an important part of the book’s focus, but so, too, was highlighting the need to optimize care delivery now by using what is already known to prevent complications and improve quality of life. “We need to effectively use every new treatment modality and technology at our disposal,” she said. “We can’t just wait for future approaches to help us with prevention, we have to provide the best possible care today to preserve health and protect the futures for all persons with type 1 diabetes.”

“The Type 1 Diabetes Sourcebook is an excellent compendium that captures our current understanding of and clinical approaches to type 1 diabetes, throughout all stages of the disease,” said Richard Insel, MD, JDRF’s chief scientific officer. “This resource will prove invaluable in developing standards of care for type 1 diabetes.”

The book is now available and can be purchased at http://www.shopdiabetes.org/ for $39.95. Funding for the development of this book came from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

About JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF’s goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure T1D.

As the largest charitable supporter of T1D research, JDRF is currently sponsoring $530 million in scientific research in 17 countries. In 2012 alone, JDRF provided more than $110 million to T1D research. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. In 2012 Forbes magazine named JDRF one of its five All-Star charities, citing the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness.

About the American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop Diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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