In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released results from their latest SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study. The data
revealed a 23 percent
growth in type 1 diabetes (T1D) prevalence, between 2001 and 2009, in
Americans under age 20. At this rate, the prevalence of T1D would double for
every future generation, calling attention to the urgent need to reverse this
alarming trend.

In order to do this, we need research. We must understand what
factors cause T1D and why, who is at risk for the disease and why, and then
discover methods for preventing the progression of the disease. The SEARCH
results are the latest example of why organizations like JDRF are essential,
and of why federal support of research through the Special
Diabetes Program (SDP) must continue to be renewed. The SDP funds
roughly one-third of all diabetes research at the NIH. Its impending expiration,
if not renewed by Congress, would hinder the continuation of key research initiatives
that are working toward slowing down and halting T1D.

In only a decade, SDP research has expanded the catalog of
genes now believed to influence a person’s risk of developing T1D from three
genes to nearly 50 genes or genetic regions today. We are also positioned to learn
a great deal about the environmental factors that may trigger T1D. The SDP
funds The Environmental Determinants of
Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY), a multi-national consortium examining the
environmental exposures of children who are at an increased genetic risk for
the disease. A greater understanding of who is at risk for T1D and why will
help researchers to develop possible approaches to prevention of T1D.

TrialNet, funded in part
by the SDP and by JDRF, is screening relatives of individuals with T1D for the
presence of beta cell-specific autoantibodies, to determine an individual’s
risk of developing the disease. Individuals at high risk are being offered the
opportunity to enroll in TrialNet T1D prevention trials.

With the help of TEDDY, TrialNet, and many other studies on why
and how T1D progresses, scientists are now working toward possible
interventions, such as T1D vaccines. Researchers
are exploring therapeutic avenues that have successfully preserved residual
beta cell function in recent onset T1D, in order to find ways to protect beta
cells in those at risk before disease begins.

JDRF and others are committed to putting an end to T1D, and the
latest SEARCH data underscores that commitment. In addition to research, we must
continue to advocate for the protection of federal support for SDP. If
you would like to get involved in helping to ensure continued diabetes research
funding, sign up
here to be a JDRF advocate or visit advocacy.jdrf.org
for more information.