It's In the News.. a look at the top headlines and stories in the diabetes community. This week's top stories: Hurricane aid for people with diabetes, Medtronic safety warning, stem cell updates for type 1, new study about teens and young adults with type 1, and Ryan Reed returns to racing. Find out more about Moms' Night Out Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Learn more about Gvoke Glucagon Gvoke HypoPen® (glucagon injection): Glucagon Injection For Very Low Blood Sugar (gvokeglucagon.com) Omnipod - Simplify Life Learn about Dexcom Edgepark Medical Supplies Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures Learn more about AG1 from Athletic Greens Drive research that matters through the T1D Exchange The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Twitter Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com Episode transcription with links: Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and every other Friday I bring you a short episode with the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. XX Hurricane Insulin efforts XX Medtronic has notified customers that battery issues with its Minimed 600 and 700 series insulin pumps could cause the devices to stop delivering insulin significantly sooner than expected. A “low battery pump” alert, intended to signal up to 10 hours of remaining battery life, may be displayed on the device even if much less time is left. Medtronic told customers they could contact the company to determine the need for a replacement pump. Medtronic said it received 170 reports of hyperglycemia and 11 reports of diabetic ketoacidosis in the U.S., from January 2023 to September 2024, potentially related to the issue. Pump models including the Minimed 630G, 670G, 770G and 780G systems are affected by the notice. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/Medtronic-Minimed-insulin-pumps-recall-battery-life/729019/ XX A woman has undergone a stem-cell therapy made from her own cells, to treat her type 1 diabetes. Researchers in China discovered the woman did not need to use insulin 75 days after the procedure, and that the stem-cell derived islet cells she was injected with had been engrafted inside her abdomen. the case is the first of its kind, and two more people have been enrolled in the clinical trial in China since, researchers involved in the study told Medical News Today. Other stem-cell based therapies for type 1 and type 2 diabetes are also currently in development and in trials. For this case study, researchers based in Tianjin First Central Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin, China took fat cells from a 25 year-old woman with type 1 diabetes, and chemically induced them to behave as pluripotent stem cells, a type of cell that can develop into other types of cell. They then used these to create islet cells, which typically exist in the pancreas and create insulin, a hormone that regulates levels of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. The patient in this case study had previously had two liver transplants and a failed pancreas transplant due to complications that had arisen due to her diabetes. The induced islet cells made from the patient’s own cells were then injected between the skin and abdominal muscles. Researchers discovered that these successfully engrafted in the patient, including growing their own vasculature. Before the procedure she produced enough insulin to reach her target glycemic range 43.18% of the time, and 4 months later this increased to 96.2% of the time. She was also shown to have lower glycated hemoglobin, which indicated long-term systemic glucose levels at a non-diabetic level. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/stem-cell-therapy-reverses-type-1-diabetes-in-groundbreaking-case-study XX The state of Texas is accusing major pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies of colluding to raise the cost of insulin. Texas alleged drug manufacturers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi raise the price of insulin and then pay an undisclosed amount back to PBMs Optum Rx, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark through a quid pro quo agreement. PBMs then give preferred status on its standard formularies to drugs with the highest list prices, the state said. Insulin costs $2 to produce and could be purchased for $20 in the 1990s but now costs up to $700, the Office of the Attorney General of Texas wrote in a news release. The filing goes so far as to describe a LinkedIn group these executives would use to discuss insulin pricing tactics. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sued Optum Rx, Express Scripts and Caremark for rising insulin prices and anticompetitive ...
