Two Studies Of Long Term Diabetics

Type 1 and LADA
1

I have mentioned the Joslin Medalist Study on several occasions. That study has examined more than 600 type 1 diabetics who have lived with their diabetes for at least 50 years. The researchers involved are looking for the factor(s) that have enabled the participants in the study to have lived so long without serious complications. This study is being done at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. I participated in the study in 2009. JDRF and NIH funding has enabled the study to continue for several years now. Here is a link to the Joslin Medalist Study:

http://www.joslin.org/50_year_medalist_study.html

Now there is a very similar study beginning in Sweden. The “PROLONG” Study in Sweden, will attempt to determine why the majority of diabetics over time develop complications, but 10-15 percent never do.

There are approximately 12,000 people in Sweden who have had diabetes for more than 30 years. About half of them do not have major complications. 1,600 have had it for over 50 years, and two-thirds of those have escaped complications. The study wants to find what protects these individials.

The PROLONG Study is starting with the examination of patients with diabetes for more than 30 years. They will be compared with diabetics who already have severe complications even though they have had diabetes for less than 15 years. They feel the 30 year limit is appropriate because a person who has had diabetes for that length of time, and has not developed complications, is not likely to do so later in life.

The researchers hope to identify factors protecting these long term diabetics from devastating complications, so that drugs might be developed that could do the same thing. Here is the link to the PROLONG Study:

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10429&catid=1&Itemid=17

The Joslin study involves type 1 diabetics who have had diabetes for 50 years or more. The PROLONG study involves diabetics who have had diabetes for at least 30 years. The participants in both studies have no serious complications. There was no mentioning of the type of diabetes involved in the PROLONG study. I presume that both types are being examined.

2

interesting. i do look forward to the results of this study. i am past the 30 yr mark and about to hit 39 myself with no complications. and early on my control was impossible. and for quite a number of years after also.
to be honest it in a ways haunts me as to why nothing untold has happened after all the years it was drilled into me that something would and death would soon follow,

3

I know what you mean Dean. Many people say the same thing, on so many websites. We have proved those profits of doom and gloom to be WRONG!

4

Thanks for the interesting link! Perhaps people in Sweden will have success because of the ready availability of the Swedish crackers Dr. Bernstein alludes to?

5

Lol! Interesting theory Rock! Actually there is a higher incidence of type 1 in the Scandinavian countries than any other part of the world. That is an interesting research topic in itself.