Potential to revolutionise the treatment of patients with Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition caused when the pancreas stops producing the insulin needed to control blood sugar levels. Patients must carry out frequent finger-prick tests and inject insulin to keep their blood sugar within safe limits. Left untreated, Type 1 diabetes is fatal; even suboptimal control increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage and blindness.

Patients under the age of five are a particularly vulnerable group. Too young to recognise the shaking and dizziness that warn of a drop in their blood sugar, they are at high risk of developing overnight hypoglycaemia.

Now, a clinical trial with this age group is testing an