World-first trial offers new hope for type 1 diabetes
Research breakthrough
Researchers at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI) have shown that a commonly used rheumatoid arthritis drug can slow down the progression of type 1 diabetes.
The world-first human trial, led by SVI’s Professors Thomas Kay and Helen Thomas, showed that a drug called baricitinib can safely preserve the body’s own insulin production and slow down the progression of type 1 diabetes in people who start the treatment within 100 days of diagnosis.
Introducing Professor Kay
“When type 1 diabetes is first diagnosed there is a large number of insulin-producing cells still present,” Professor Kay explains.
“We wanted to see if we could protect further destruction of these cells by the immune system. We showed that baricitinib is safe and effective at slowing the progression of type 1 diabetes in people who have been recently diagnosed.”
This groundbreaking research shows promise as the first disease-modifying treatment of its kind for type 1 diabetes that can be delivered as a tablet.
“It is tremendously exciting for us to be the first group anywhere in the world to test the efficacy of baricitinib as a potential type 1 diabetes treatment,” Professor Kay says.
“Up until now, people with type 1 diabetes have been reliant on insulin delivered via injection or infusion pump.
Our trial showed that, if started early enough after diagnosis, and while the participants remained on the medication, their production of insulin was maintained. People with type 1 diabetes in the trial who were given the drug required significantly less insulin for treatment.”
Management of the lifelong autoimmune disease is incredibly burdensome and requires careful glucose monitoring and insulin injections (or use of a pump) day and night to stay alive.
Until insulin’s discovery more than 100 years ago, type 1 diabetes was a fatal condition. While insulin is lifesaving, it can be dangerous if too much or too little is delivered. Diabetes also comes with a higher risk of long-term complications, including heart attack and stroke, vision impairment, kidney disease and nerve damage.
“We are very optimistic that this treatment will become clinically available. This would be a huge step-change in how type 1 diabetes is managed and we believe it shows promise as a fundamental improvement in the ability to control type 1 diabetes,” says Professor Helen Thomas, preclinical lead on the trial.
The clinical trial was funded by Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leading type 1 diabetes research, advocacy, and community programs organisation. Partners included The Royal Melbourne Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, The Royal Children’s Hospital and The Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide.
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Article published February 2024.
