What is your type 1 diabetes wish this holiday season?
For Chloe and her mum Jenna, it is a world without type 1 diabetes.
Will you help us get closer to a world without type 1 diabetes?
Chloe was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the very young age of 2 years old. Jenna, her mum, recalls this was the most stressful time of their lives.
“We were in very scary, unfamiliar territory. I remember having all these worrying thoughts like, ‘Is my child going to have organ failure?’ ‘Is her life going to be cut short?’ ‘How many challenges is she going to face in her life?'”
Learning how to live with and manage type 1 diabetes can be deeply stressful for families, especially those caring for a young child who has been diagnosed with the condition.
The very best way to protect children and adults from the life-long burden of type 1 diabetes is to prevent it from happening in the first place until we find a cure – and this can only be achieved by research.
Please donate to help ease the burden of type 1 diabetes on children and young people like Chloe.
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Dr Satvika Burugupalli, a JDRF funded researcher, has dedicated her career to tackling the most important issues in type 1 diabetes through research.
Along with her research team, Dr Burugupalli is exploring the role breast milk plays in the development and potential prevention of type 1 diabetes in very young children.
“The first months of a child’s life are a very plastic period, and there are a lot of opportunities to prevent future disease risks,” Dr Burugupalli explains. “We also know that not all children who have a genetic risk of type 1 diabetes go on to develop it. Breastfeeding has a huge and significant impact on metabolism. It also reduces infections and does lots of other beneficial things for kids.
“Our research is looking at the different components of breast milk and how they impact a child’s protective mechanisms against type 1 diabetes. We want to better understand how the fats, proteins, sugars and bacteria in breast milk might help stop its onset.
“I’m hopeful this study will identity components in breast milk which can delay and even prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes. That would allow us to incorporate those components into formulas and supplements and stop children from developing it in the first place.”
Will you donate today to help fund vital research, such as Dr Burugupalli’s, that will improve life for people like Chloe and put a type 1 diabetes cure closer within reach?
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