We take a look at some of the exciting diabetes research developments announced in November, and what the findings could mean for people living with or affected by diabetes.
Diet in early childhood linked to risk of type 2 diabetes years later
New research published in Science suggests that limiting sugar in the first 1,000 days of life is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes years later.
The researchers think that exposure to a high-sugar diet in the womb and early life could increase the risk of obesity – one of many risk factors for type 2 diabetes – and influence food preferences long-term. But this study can’t give us firm answers.
Researchers used a ‘natural experiment’ by comparing 60,000 adults conceived during post-war sugar rationing to those born after it ended from 1953. When sugar rationing ended, the UK’s average sugar consumption doubled almost immediately, making it likely the two groups had different levels of sugar exposure during early-life.
The researchers found that people in the sugar rationed group had a 35% lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes by their mid-60s, compared to those born later. If they did develop type 2 diabetes, they were diagnosed on average four years later than those who didn’t live through rationing.
Results showed the mother’s diet during pregnancy was important - a third of the risk reduction was traced to sugar rationing when the baby was still in the womb. But the biggest benefits were seen when sugar rationing extended into early childhood too.
This study reinforces the evidence that early-life is a critical period that can shape our future health. But we can’t say if eating less sugar alone accounted for the lowered type 2 risk. Differences in other habits, like physical activity levels, could have contributed too.
The data came from the UK Biobank, which tends to include healthier and wealthier people. Plus, today’s food environment, dietary patterns and levels of physical activity are all very different to the 1950s. The same study in different groups of people, or time periods, may give us different results.
Semaglutide may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s in people with type 2
GLP-1 agonists are a family of medications designed to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. But researchers noticed that GLP-1s can hold other benefits too, like weight loss, and protecting against heart and kidney damage.
A new study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia suggests the GLP-1, semaglutide, may also help to protect the brain.
Researchers looked at the health records of over one million people with type 2 diabetes in the US. They followed people for three years to see if anyone was newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and compared those taking semaglutide to people using other diabetes medications.
They found that people taking semaglutide had a lower risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. For example, compared to those taking insulin, people using semaglutide had a 67% lower risk of Alzheimer's. And they had a 40% lower risk compared to people taking other types of GLP-1 agonists.
This study provides the first real-world evidence to suggest semaglutide might help to delay or prevent Alzheimer's in people with type 2 diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes can have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, making it crucial to find ways to reduce this risk. These findings provide encouraging evidence that semaglutide could help to do this. But we now need scientists to check if semaglutide itself is directly responsible for protective effects or if other factors are influencing the results. We also need to know how long any protective effects might last, and uncover how semaglutide might work to protect brain health.
We’re backing research that hopes to better understand why type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are connected.
Vertex’s man-made beta cell treatments onto next stage of clinical trials
Biotech company Vertex have been running the first clinical trials of pioneering stem cell treatments that aim to give people with type 1 diabetes new insulin-making beta cells, replacing those that the immune system has destroyed. In November, they announced they were moving one treatment, called VX-880, into a ‘phase 3’ clinical trial.
This is first time ever a treatment that’s edging us closer to a cure for type 1 diabetes, by restoring insulin production, has reached this phase of trial.
New treatments need to go through several phases of trials before they can be approved for use outside of a research setting. A phase 3 trial is usually the last in the pipeline, where scientists check a treatment’s effectiveness and safety with larger numbers of people before it being approved.
VX-880 involves transplanting a man-made supply of beta cells into people with type 1, using from stem cells. Stem cells can be coaxed to shape-shift into other types of cells in the body, including beta cells.
The results so far have been exciting. Some participants were able to stop using insulin entirely, while others needed a lot less. And people’s blood sugar levels became much more stable, avoiding dangerous highs and lows. There also haven’t been any unexpected side effects.
However, participants trialling the treatment do need to take powerful immune system suppressing drugs to prevent their bodies from rejecting the transplanted cells. And these drugs can come with the risk of serious side effects.
This means, at the moment, Vertex are only recruiting people with type 1 diabetes who have severe hypo unawareness and a history of severe hypos to take part in their trials. They’ve opened their first trial site in the UK, and you can check who’s eligible to take part.
Vertex also said they hope to reveal the first results from an early (phase 1) trial of a different beta cell replacement approach, called VX-264, in 2025. VX-264 hopes to avoid the need for immunosuppressants by transplanting the new cells inside a device that could protect them from the immune system.
It's an exciting time for beta cell replacement treatments, which could usher in a new era where people with type 1 diabetes no longer need to take insulin to manage their blood sugar levels. And to get us there faster, the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, our partnership with Breakthrough T1D and the Steve Morgan Foundation, is investing in game-changing research to find new and even more effective approaches.
