A NEW clinical trial at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford could change the way young people suffering from diabetes are treated and improve their quality of life.
In most people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), the pancreas loses its ability to produce insulin because the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the cells producing the hormone.
It affects approximately 400,000 patients in the UK, with numbers rising.
Lucy Openshaw, 23, was diagnosed with it in August, after noticing weight loss and fatigue, and decided to take part in the trial to help find new treatment.
Living with T1D means frequent close monitoring of blood glucose levels and lifelong daily insulin injections.
Ms Openshaw, who lives in Marston, said: “I had symptoms the whole summer but didn’t realise – I was always thirsty but thought that was just the heat and that the fatigue was long covid.
“I started to lose weight and got worried because that is really out of character for me so I decided to go to the doctor.
“I had a friend who was diagnosed with it so it was in the back of my mind but I still didn’t think that would be the case and thought I was just wasting my GP’s time.
“But they told me my blood sugar was high and that they thought I had diabetes. I went into hospital and they told me it was Type 1 and showed me how to inject myself.
“It changed everything and it was a huge shift. It took away the spontaneity of life: before the diagnosis I could leave my house with just my phone and keys and now I have to know exactly what I will eat and when.
“With this trial, you need to get into it quite soon after the diagnosis – I had a think about it but working in clinical trials myself, I was aware of the good and the bad. Of course there is a risk, but it’s a very measured risk and you are always closely monitored.
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“I decided I would take part because it’s a rubbish situation to be in and this was a way to contribute to the greater good – I was trying to get something good out of something that was categorically bad.
“There’s no guarantee I will be benefitting from it but you are made aware of it from the start. I might not benefit from it directly but it’s nice knowing that whatever happens, I helped the research and getting closer to finding different treatment options.
“Getting involved in a clinical trial is not this big scary thing you think it’s going to be – I’ve not had any side effects other than a sore arm but people think you’d basically become a guinea pig but it’s not like that.
“I have no regrets about doing it. It’s a personal decision but I would urge people to think about it, how often are you going to be presented with such an opportunity?”
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The trail consisted of six injections of an experimental drug administered every two weeks and a booster after three months.
Dr Katharine Owen, associate professor of diabetes at the University of Oxford and the main investigator in the trial, said this would be an opportunity to find alternative treatment for the condition.
She said: “T1D is the slightly less common and it’s the one that is caused by the immune system going wrong.
“We’ve had insulin as a treatment for 100 years now and it can be very effective but this is a very difficult condition to live with.
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“We became interested in doing something that could dampen the immune response and slow down the process.
“We try and catch it at an early stage but when people get diagnosed the immune damage has often been going on for months or years.
“The aim of this study is to find a treatment that will preserve the pancreatic efficiency that is still there at the time of the diagnosis and hopefully keep the patients healthier for longer.
“I think people have been really keen to get involved because they see it as an opportunity to change what will happen in the future. This research could benefit someone in five or 10 years, or even their children.
"We ask them to give their time to research and it’s a totally altruistic thing to do.
“The pandemic has shown that health research in the UK is absolutely amazing – it’s a very exciting time to be working on such a study.”
The study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). For more information and to take part in Type 1 diabetes research vist https://type1diabetesresearch.org.uk/
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