Can the AHCL System Be Used in T1D Patients with Borderline TDDI? A Case Report

(1) Background: Intensive insulin therapy using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) with continuous real-time glucose monitoring (rt CGM) is the best option for patients with T1D. The recent introduction of a technology called Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop (AHCL) represents a new era in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, the next step towards better care, as well as improving the effectiveness and safety of therapy. The aim is to present the case of a T1D patient with a borderline total daily dose of insulin being treated with the Medtronic AHCL system in automatic mode. (2) Materials and Methods: A 9-year-old boy, from October 2020, with type 1 diabetes in remission was connected to the Minimed™ 780G (AHCL) system in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations (daily insulin dose > 8 units, age > 7). Records of the patient’s history were collected from visits to The Department of Children’s Diabetology, as well as from the Medtronic CareLink™ software and the DPV SWEET program from October 2020 to April 2021. (3) Results: The patient’s total daily insulin requirement decreased in the first 6 weeks after the AHCL was connected, which may reflect the remission phase (tight glycemic control with a healthy lifestyle). The lowest daily insulin requirement of 5.7 units was also recorded. In a three-month follow-up of the patient treated with AHCL, it was found that for almost 38% of the days the insulin dose was less than 8 IU. (4) Conclusions: The AHCL system allows safe and effective insulin therapy in automatic mode, as well as in patients with a lower daily insulin requirement. The AHCL system should be considered a good therapeutic option for patients from the onset of T1D, as well in the remission phase.

Therapeutic efficacy of umbilical cord-derived stem cells for diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis study

Background Stem cell therapy provides great hope for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). DM is a seriously alarming metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia and β cell dysfunction. Efficient novel therapeutic modalities to treat DM are indeed warranted. Stem cells (SC) derived from the umbilical cord specifically provide several advantages and unique characteristics being a readily available non-invasive source, with an additional credit for their banking potential. This meta-analysis study aims to provide a focused assessment for therapeutic efficacy of umbilical cord (UC)-derived SC-transplantation, namely Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) for DM. Methods The clinical efficacy was evaluated based on glycemic control status (reflected on HbA1c%) and β cell function (reflected on C-peptide levels), as well as the daily insulin requirement in diabetic patients after receiving UC-derived SC-transplantation compared to baseline values. Moreover, we assessed these outcome measures in patients who received such intervention compared to those who did not receive it in randomized/non-randomized controlled clinical trials. We employed a random-effects model and standardized mean difference for this meta-analysis. Results Eleven eligible clinical studies were included; WJ-MSCs (6 studies; 172 patients including 71 controls) and UCB (5 studies; 74 patients including 15 controls). WJ-MSCs significantly improved HbA1c% (pooled-estimate − 1.085; 95%CI (− 1.513, − 0.657); p < 0.001) and C-peptide levels (pooled-estimate 1.008; 95%CI (0.475, 1.541); p < 0.001), as well as the daily insulin-requirement (pooled-estimate − 2.027; 95%CI (− 3.32, − 0.733); p = 0.002). On the contrary, UCB was found to be uniformly ineffective; HbA1c% (pooled-estimate − 0.091, 95%CI (− 0.454, 0.271); p = 0.622), significantly deteriorated C-peptide levels (pooled-estimate − 0.789; 95%CI (− 1.252, − 0.325); p < 0.001) and daily insulin-requirement (pooled-estimate 0.916; 95%CI (0.247, 1.585); p = 0.007). All these observations remained consistent when we carried out sub-group meta-analysis for T1DM and T2DM and also when we compared patients who received WJ-MSCs or UCB to controls. Conclusions The results of our meta-analysis provide a clear evidence for the superior efficacy of WJ-MSCs over UCB in DM. This sheds lights on the importance to consider banking of WJ-MSCs together with the well-established routine UCB-banking, especially for those with family history of DM. Additionally, further clinical studies are required to investigate therapeutic efficacy of selected/enriched UCB-derived cell populations with immunomodulatory/regenerative potential in DM.

Influence of Age on Partial Clinical Remission among Children with Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes

Partial clinical remission (PCR) is a transitory period characterized by the residual endogenous insulin secretion following type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis and introducing the insulin therapy. Scientific interest in PCR has been recently increasing, as this phase could be crucial to preserve functional beta cells after T1D onset, also taking advantage of new therapeutic opportunities. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency, duration and associated factors of PCR in children newly diagnosed with T1D. Our cohort study included 167 pediatric patients aged 13.8 ± 4.1 years. The association of clinical and laboratory factors with the occurrence and duration of PCR was evaluated via logistic regression and multivariable generalized linear model, respectively. PCR occurred in 63.5% of the examined patients. Patients who achieved the remission phase were significantly older, and they had lower daily insulin requirement compared with non-remitters. PCR was positively associated to body mass index (OR = 1.11; p = 0.032), pH value (OR 49.02; p = 0.003) and c-peptide levels (OR 12.8; p = 0.002). The average duration of PCR was 13.4 months, and older age at diagnosis was the only predictor factor. Two years after diagnosis remitter patients had lower HbA1c and daily insulin requirement.

Purified insulins

Purified porcine insulins were developed to reduce the immunogenic properties of conventional insulin. About 95% of diabetics who use standard beef insulin develop insulin antibodies within the first 12 weeks of treatment.1 These antibodies may increase the daily insulin requirement and slow the hypoglycaemic action because active insulin may be only gradually released from the antigen-antibody complex. Suggestions that the antibodies also increase the incidence of long-term diabetic complications2–4 are not widely accepted.