Prevention and Intervention

Prevention

Establishment of screening programs and research into better biomarkers, makes it possible to identify people at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Development of vaccines and similar treatments may be able to prevent the disease. The goal is to stop or delay the development of type 1 diabetes in the earliest stages.

Status

  • Initiatives to establish screening and intervention programs are ongoing worldwide to identify individuals at risk for developing type 1 diabetes, as well as performing clinical tests of treatments on individuals at risk.

  • For people with certain biomarkers, it is now possible to predict type 1 diabetes long before symptoms appear.

  • It is still unexplained why type 1 diabetes occurs. It is known that factors such as genetics and the environment play a role, but it is probably a combination of several external and internal factors that are behind the disease.

Immunotherapies

Research into treatments that suppress the immune system's attack on the insulin-producing beta cells, by inactivating overactive immune cells, strengthening normal immune cells, and normalizing the body's immune system. Immunotherapies are necessary for beta cell regeneration and can be of great help in other research areas as well. Ultimately, immunotherapies can intervene, reverse and cure type 1 diabetes.

Status

  • Combination therapies have been developed that optimize the immunosuppressive medication so that the side effects are reduced.

  • The experimental drug teplizumab has delayed onset of type 1 diabetes for over 2 years in clinical trials.

  • Researchers are working on training the immune system so that the beta cells are not seen as foreign bodies to be killed.