[ainiriand]

My wife has a closed-loop system here in Germany, that is a small pod she changes every 3 days with the insulin loaded into and a wireless monitoring device in the arm that syncs to the phone. She is way into 95% or more in range and she lives a normal life. I think immunodepressants would not be the solution for her.

[thecosas]

I've had Type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and this is me. I still bolus for meals, etc. but am set up with Loop [0] on my phone and watch, omnipod insulin pumps, and a Dexcom G7 CGM for glucose readings. It's been fantastic. There are other open source projects as well, including Trio [1].

While these treatment options are so much better than even 10 years ago, the supplies can get very expensive if you don't have health insurance (in the US anyway). Luckily I do.

One company working on functional "cures" is Vertex [2]. They have one which requires immunosuppressive drug therapy alongside stem cell treatment (VX-880) and another which involves encapsulated stem cells which does not (VX-264). I'm sure there are many other companies working similarly to the one highlighted in this article.

Personally, given the great control I have right now, my insurance covering a good portion of the supplies, and the relative ease of use of the Loop app, I wouldn't take immunosuppressive therapies.

That said, I know the calculus is different for everyone; it's really a matter of personal circumstance and in some cases, luck.

Either way, I'm glad that research is being done and scientists are working on these various approaches. It's been an incredible 30 years I've been able to see with therapies advancing!

[0] https://loopkit.github.io/loopdocs/

[1] https://docs.diy-trio.org/en/latest/

[2] https://www.vrtx.com/our-science/pipeline/type-1-diabetes/

[cut3]

Similar story for my partner in the USA.

[zbyforgotp]

What is the range that she is keeping?

[ainiriand]

70-180.