Type 1 Longevity Study In Canada

There is a study taking place in Canada at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The study parallels the Joslin Medalist study being done in Boston. All participants in both studies have been T1 for 50 or more years. The picture in the link below shows an endo who is heading the study. He is with a patient who has been T1 for 76 years.

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I was in the Phase 1 Study last summer. It was interesting and very detailed. I didn’t have any problems getting the tests that they required. There were about 370 Participants. We were all sent some of the observations from Dr. Perkins. The one point that shocked me was that the average A1c of these Canadians was 7.6. I expected it to be in the 6’s. Do you remember the average A1c of the U.S. Study Participants, Richard?

I was hoping to be in the Phase 2 Study since we were all sent the letter about it but they were requesting only 75 of the Diabetics in the Study and they were to be from the GTA(Greater Toronto Area). Unfortunately, I’m not in the area of the Mount Sinai Hospital. They also wanted each PWD to bring a Spouse, Friend or Relative who is within 5 years of the age of themselves. They were to be Diabetes free, so they could compare the outcomes of the tests. My Hubby was all for it but anyways…I presume they found all the People that they needed. This comparison was probably also done with the U.S. Study you were involved in, Richard. Correct?

I was Happy to be a Participant in this Study and hopefully we helped the Doctors in their search
of information for connections to a Longer Life with Diabetes as the U.S Participants did, perhaps better treatments or a cure eventually maybe.

Although my 50th Diaversary was in 2011 when I received a beautiful large print from Novo Nordisk, I also received my lovely Joslin Diabetes Medal last year after participating in the Longevity Study. I’m doubly Proud. :slight_smile:

Thank you for posting this topic Richard!! :wink:

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Terrie, I know the Canadian study does parallel the Joslin study, but I do not know to what extent. I seem to recall that the average A1c for Joslin participants was also in the 7’s.

When I started participating, I filled out about 20 pages, answering many questions about my past. Questions about my parents and family, exercise when I was young and now, what I ate when I was young and now, and so many other things I have forgotten. They wanted as many of my A1c tests that I could provide. My doctor started my A1c’s in 1980 and he took the time to look them up and write them down. I sent them to Joslin with my pages of info. On the day they examined me I had to skip breakfast so I could take a glucose tolerance test. I was using my basal with my pump, but there was no bolus. That test made me very sick, and my BG was over 300 a couple of hours after the test. At that time I was permitted to take a correction bolus. It was huge! I had to go have a thorough eye examination while I was recovering. That was not fun! The fact that my BG kept going up after the GTT showed that my pancreas does not make insulin. I was told that many participants had BGs that were high after the test, but they were going down some after the first hour. That means they are still producing some insulin. We had so many blood samples taken, and one was a C-peptide test. An article appeared the following year saying that about 66% of the participants were producing some insulin. I have had two C-peptide tests done and the most recent showed mine is less than 0.1, so my insulin production is almost nonexistent. There have been 1000 participants at Joslin, 2005-2015. That was the original intention, 1000 participants in ten years. The funding had that in mind. I am anxious to see the study update in the Fall. It should show a summary and conclusions reached from the study.

We had about 34 pages of questions similar to yours. Then all the tests and paper work to send in. They only asked for our last A1c, current Lab tests, eye exam and ECG. I’ve been getting copies of my test results for many years, so I sent them all. That’s interesting that both Study Groups had the average A1c’s in the 7’s.

Ugh! I’ve heard about the GTT. Poor you! :stuck_out_tongue:

Wow, ten years for the Study. Our Phase 1 started in 2013 and was extended to 2014 since they couldn’t find enough People. So they did good with about 370. Bigger country but much less population here, of course. Plus some don’t want their private info given out.

The end results should be very interesting from both countries. Please let us know about yours.

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I think the final report for the study will be given to all participants this Fall. I will see if I can post it on TuD.

Hearing that a study group has an average hba1c in the low 7s is not realty that shocking. I remember a few years back reading about a survey done by (I believe it is called) the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. In that study, the average hba1c of diabetics who had seen their endocrinologist in the past years was, I believe, 9.1…

Oh I hope so Richard. Can’t wait!

Holy Cow VS on that 9.1 average. I wonder what that Study was for.