Diabetes Connections | Type 1 Diabetes

Our top stories in the news this week: Congressional report on insulin pricing, SGLT2 pulled from EU market, Insulin-producing cells found outside the pancreas, Sugarmate returns & Miss America with #T1D joins Smithsonian display. -- Join us LIVE every Wednesday at 4:30pm EST Full episode transcription below:

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Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I’m going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. XX In the News is brought to you by The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom, Real life stories of raising a child with diabetes. Winner of the American Book Fest Prize for best new non-fiction. Available in paperback, on Kindle or as an audio book – all at Amazon.com. XX New Congressional report from Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight & Reform keeping the focus on insulin pricing. It says Medicare could have saved more than $16.7 billion on insulin if it were allowed to negotiate like other health programs. This final report is the culmination of an almost 3-year investigation. Documents from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi indicate these firms "raised their prices in lockstep in order to maintain 'pricing parity'. One particularly damning quote – a Novo Nordisk pricing analyst remarked, '[M]aybe Sanofi will wait until tomorrow morning to announce their price increase...that's all I want for Christmas'," https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964799 XX Surprising move in Europe – they’ve pulled the SGLT-2 inhibitor Forxiga from the market for people with type 1. AstraZeneca said the decision isn’t about safety but didn’t explain further. There are already concerns about an increased risk of DKA from SGLT-2 inhibitors in people with type 1.. that’s why they aren’t approved in the US.. but many advocates say the benefits outweigh the risks. The UK Chief Executive of JDRF, said it is "appalling" that the drug has been withdrawn, as quote "many people with type 1 are finding it an effective and useful tool to help manage their glucose levels." https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964844 XX The FDA issues a warning to Medtronic over it’s diabetes headquarters. This is related to a July inspection that led to recalls of the MiniMedTM 600 series pump, and a remote controller device for MiniMedTM 508 and ParadigmTM pumps. Medtronic says they are implementing a range of corrective actions and process improvements related to the observations, and will continue reviewing these actions with the FDA. https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/medtronic-diabetes-receives-fda-warning-letter/article_bf45a3c3-1759-5fff-b234-6a71cd874a98.html XX Here’s a new one. Israeli scientists have discovered that the human fetus makes insulin in its intestines before birth and say this means that adults may have a “backup” system that could be reactivated to treat diabetes. This is peer-reviewed research published in the journal Nature Medicine. These scientists say there’s a lot here they don’t understand and practical applications are a long way off but.. the hope is that some kind of medication could one day reactivate these cells in adults. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-say-humans-may-have-backup-insulin-system-diabetics-could-use/ XX Good news Sugarmate fans! Late last week the app makers announced it would once again connect with Dexcom for US customers. They issued an apology and thanked users for their patience. Still working on re-connecting for those outside the US. This is all about changes to the Dexcom API, the way apps talk t...

Our top stories this week include Medicare further expanding CGM coverage, Beta Bionics has an iLet update, ADA announces new Standards of Care, a new study looks at using Fitbits to predict the risk of type 2, and more!

Join us LIVE on Facebook every Wednesday at 4:30pm EST

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

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Episode transcription below:

Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I’m going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. XX In the News is brought to you by The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom, Real life stories of raising a child with diabetes. Winner of the American Book Fest Prize for best new non-fiction. Available in paperback, on Kindle or as an audio book – all at Amazon.com. XX Our top story.. another adjustment for CGM coverage under Medicare. All types of continuous glucose monitors will now be included. The difference here is that it includes CGMs that aren’t approved for making decisions about insulin dosing – at this point, that’s really just the Medtronic brand. This follows another decision in July that covered CGM use with any insulin – including inhaled insulin - and got rid of the four times per day fingerstick testing requirements. The new rule goes into effect in two months. https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20211222/cms-expands-medicare-coverage-for-all-cgms XX The American Diabetes Association is out with its annual Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes. Notable updates include: Screening for prediabetes and diabetes beginning at age 35 for all people; Changes to gestational diabetes recommendations regarding when to test and who to test. Updated recommendations on technology selection based on individual and caregiver considerations, ongoing education on use of devices, continued access to devices across insurance companies, support of students using devices in school, use of telehealth visits, and early initiation of technology. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latest-ada-annual-standards-of-care-includes-changes-to-diabetes-screening-first-line-therapy-pregnancy-and-technology-301448533.html XX Little bit of news from Beta Bionics, makers of the iLet Bionic Pancreas System. They’ve completed a randomized controlled trial for their insulin only pump.. this included 440 adults and kids over the age of 6 with type 1. The iLet is different in that you only put your weight in and the system learns you. No carb ratios or basal rates. You do still announce meals, but no carb counting.. just meal size. Public presentation of the clinical data is expected in the first half of 2022. They’re now enrolling into the screening protocol for the next step, the pivotal trial for their Bihormonal pump that would use insulin and glucagon. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/12/22/2356645/0/en/Beta-Bionics-Announces-Data-Lock-of-the-Insulin-Only-Bionic-Pancreas-Pivotal-Trial-and-Enrollment-into-the-Screening-Protocol-of-the-Bihormonal-Bionic-Pancreas-Pivotal-Trial.html XX You probably know there is a terrible shortage of endocrinologists in this country.. an estimated 80% patients with diabetes use their primary physician’s office for their diabetes care. There’s a new push for more endo fellowships.. These 1-year programs, with funding and accreditation, train interested family and internal medicine clinicians in intensive diabetes management. There are several in existence but there’s a new white paper on this getting a lot of buzz. However, critics say it would be a drop in the bucket and couldn’t graduate enough endos to make a difference. Everyone agrees that the problem needs to be addressed. https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20211229/endocrinologists-propose-diabetes-fellowship-programs-to-address-growing-gap-in-care XX Interesting study on the use of health wearables and changes in blo...

This week, the top diabetes stories and headlines in the news include: the popular Sugarmate app loses Dexcom connection, interesting study about internal clocks and type 2 diabetes, the FDA approves new "POGO" BG meter, T2D remission might be more common than thought, Type 1 college scholarships and lots more. -- Join us LIVE on Facebook and YouTube every Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

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-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! -----

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Episode transcription below:

Click here for iPhone Click here for Android

Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I’m going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. XX In the News is brought to you by The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom, Real life stories of raising a child with diabetes. Available in paperback, on Kindle or as an audio book – all at Amazon.com -- Top story this week.. Big issue for a popular app – users of Sugarmate have been told as of this week – November 4th to be precise – customers in the US will lose connection. Those outside the US have seen issues since October. This is because of a change Dexcom made to its servers. Sugarmate says Dexcom is working with them to fix the issue – basically they’re going to join the Dexcom Partner API – we’ve told you about that, it’s how third party apps can talk with Dexcom.. In the meantime, Nightscout is probably the best alternative if you use Sugarmate. Quick note: Tandem acquired Sugarmate last year. And you’ll recall that Dexcom does own a small piece of Tandem. So it looks like this will all probably work out.. but exactly how in the long run will be interesting to watch. -- https://help.sugarmate.io/en/articles/5678010-faqs-sugarmate-and-dexcom-connection?mkt_tok=MzQ4LVJYVi03MDUAAAGAgZ5w-m8YKeY90ybxznIKZ4b4XWStjdvSjf7vH3dNx8PMDzDa9sJP0En6odZtM-Z4UthLL9z7MNV86wnQ4R9o61-islyzvtyvg13By4FB5A&fbclid=IwAR39j2vxjr3JuUbcQdruIAttCSuRl5dD1jVbdNKrm1b5JQpuyYlQiwH1xXs XX A study of “dented” internal clocks seems to build evidence for a theory that people who work late or irregular hours are more at risk for diabetes. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania created a timing mismatch by altering the function of a molecule within the brains of mice.. shortened their circadian rhythms from 24 to 21 hours. These mice gained more weight, had higher blood sugar, and fattier livers. This all corrected when the researchers changed their environment – sleep and meals – to match that shorter, 21 hour day. They say it might be a good idea for shift workers to try to do the same – eating meals and going to bed in a cycle that works better for them. https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2021/october/a-dented-internal-clock-provides-insight-into-shift-workers-weight-gain-and-diabetes XX New Blood glucose meter gets FDA approval. This is the POGO ... with 10-test cartridge technology. The strips and lancers are loaded inside already, so you don’t carry anything separate. You just put your finger down and press the button. They’re calling this automatic blood glucose monitoring or ABGM. On the inside it’s still a basic finger stick and blood collection. But you don’t see any of that on the outside. Of course, there’s a Bluetooth connected app for you and your healthcare team to use. The product is called POGO. the app is Patterns. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pogo-automatic-one-step-blood-113000135.html XX New numbers out for diabetes around the world and the International Diabetes Federation says it’s a pandemic of unprecedented magnitude. The IDF says more than 10-percent of adults worldwide live with diabetes.. by 2045 that number will be one in eight. The report also says that one in two people with diabetes across the world who need insulin cannot access or afford it. The theme of World Diabetes Day this November 14th is Access to Diabetes Care. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/diabetes-is-a-pandemic-...

This week, In the News our top stories include: Israeli researchers test an implant for type 2 remission, a new sports study looks at kids with type 1 on multiple daily injections, a new camera app to turn your old meter into high-tech info, the Tidepool period project, type 1 in the World Series and more! Join us LIVE every Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group!

Sign up for our newsletter here

-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! -----

Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go!

Episode transcription below:

Click here for iPhone Click here for Android

Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I’m going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. XX In the News is brought to you by Real Good Foods! Find their breakfast line and all of their great products in your local grocery store, Target or Costco. XX Our top story: Lucky mice but will it work in people? Israeli scientists say they have a one-time implant that brings blood glucose into non-diabetic range. The implant is healthy tissue grown in a lab – the glucose dropped by an average of 26-percent and stayed there the four months of the study. The engineered cells absorbed sugar, improved glucose levels and also improved absorption in other muscle cells. Long way to go before this is tried in people. https://www.timesofisrael.com/diabetes-reversed-in-mice-for-4-months-after-one-time-implant-from-israeli-lab/ XX Sports and kids with type 1 can be a tough balance, especially on multiple daily injections. A new study called the Car-2-Diab trial looked at what changes work well for teens during exercise. There’s a lot here, so I’d urge you to follow the link I’ll provide, but basically everyone in this small study experienced overnight hypos and some high BG just after exercise. The most common fix was a drop in total basal insulin. These researchers say sports and type 1 have a – quote - “irreducible level of confounding factors.” Which.. from personal experience, I can say.. I agree. https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/home/topics/diabetes/type-1-diabetes/execise-impacts-insulin-doses-in-children-with-type-1-diabetes/ XX Big new study about Medtronic’s 780G pump, available in Europe and in front of the US FDA right now. This looked at 3200 kids age 15 and younger. Time in range was 74% overall and overnight 82%. The 780G uses the Guardian Sensor 3 as a hybrid closed loop where you still bolus for meals. Overall these kids saw a 12-percent bump up in time in range.. which is a better boost than Medtronic’s first hybrid closed loop system, the 670G. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/medtronic-s-newest-minimed-insulin-pump-improves-glycemic-control-children-study XX Good write up about adults with type 1 which make up more than half of all new cases of type 1. This summary in the ADA publication Diabetes Care shows that there are big differences between adult and childhood onset, many of which aren’t understood. This also points out that misdiagnosis occurs in nearly 40% of adults with new type 1 diabetes, with the risk of error increasing with age. https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/44/11/2449 XX New app to retrofit a regular old blood glucose meter and make it a bit more high tech. Computer vision technology developed by University of Cambridge engineers can read and record the glucose levels, time and date displayed on a typical glucose test.. it does this with just the camera on a mobile phone. The technology, which doesn't require an internet or Bluetooth connection, works for any type of glucose meter, in any orientation and in a variety of light levels. The app is called Gluco-Rx Vision. You think about a lot of the services and programs that have popped up that require Bluetooth and remote monitoring – this helps people take advantage without having to buy a new meter. https://www.myvetcandy.com/newsblog/2020/11/14/computer-vision-app-allows-easier-monitoring-of-diabetes XX Tidepool gets a boost for it’s Period Project... fro...

It's "In the News..." the only diabetes newscast. This week we find out about: SGLT2 inhibitors, more evidence this T2D med works for T1D, Tandem & Insulet earning calls: what you need to know, Which kids with T1D did even better during COVID? How you sleep could increase risk of gestational diabetes, what's going on for Diabetes Awareness Month and lots more! Have 5 minutes? Give it a listen! -- Join us LIVE every Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT

Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom!

Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group!

Sign up for our newsletter here

-----

Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! -----

Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go!

Click here for iPhone Click here for Android

Episode transcription below:

Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I’m going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – we are also Live on YouTube and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast..

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In the News is brought to you by The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom, Real life stories of raising a child with diabetes. Available in paperback, on Kindle or as an audio book – all at Amazon.com

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Our top story, evidence that SGLT-2 inhibitors can help kidney and heart health in people with type 1. These are diabetes drugs that are already shown to lower blood sugar levels – they have brand names like Invokana and Jardiance – but they are not approved for T1D in the United States. The problem is that they can lead to DKA even with normal glucose levels. However, they are approved in Europe and many advocates say they can be used safely if people no to monitor closely.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211107/Study-examines-benefits-of-SGLT2-inhibitors-in-individuals-with-type-1-diabetes.aspx

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Some tidbits in Tandem’s third quarter investment call last week. CEO John Sheridan says they plan to ask the US FDA this year to approve Control IQ down to age 2 – right now it’s only approved to age six. Also asking for expanded labeling for people with type 2. Mobile bolus or bolus by phone still out there waiting for approval – Sheridan says the FDA last asked them any questions in August. He says they have three initiatives for 2022: filing for the Tsport pump, integrating the upcoming Dexcom G7 and moving ahead with their partnership with Abbott’s Libre. Sheridan thinks it’ll be a matter of a few months before Tandem pumps integrate the G7 saying, “When it comes to Dexcom, we've integrated three generations of their sensors already. We're on the fourth. We know how to do this”

I hadn’t heard this, but Sheridan says the Libre had a bit of a hiccup with the FDA approving it as an iCGM, that’s a newer designation... because taking vitamin C can throw the readings off.. but he believes they’ve addressed that. We’ll follow up.

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/11/03/tandem-diabetes-care-inc-tndm-q3-2021-earnings-cal/

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Insulet also had their quarterly call – CEO Shacey Petrovic says she’s still optimistic about Omnipod 5 being approved this year.. she says they’ve had a lot of back and forth with the FDA in the last few months and that’s what makes her more confident. Other tidbits.. Omnipod reports that 80% of their customers were previously on multiple daily injections only .. no prior pump experience. They think when Omnipod 5 comes out there will be more competitive switchers from other pumps. They reiterated that it will be a limited release when approval comes with a gradual rollout in the US.

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/11/04/insulet-corporation-podd-q3-2021-earnings-call-tra/

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Really interesting news about some children in the US with type 1 during the pandemic – they had more time in range and lower A1Cs during the first year of the pandemic compared to the year before. They also saw their doctors more, even though 90-percents of the visits were virtual. This was a group of kids ages 1-17 all of whom use a CGM. The researchers say they want to take a closer look to try to figure out why this w...