Cursing in the name of science: campaign to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes

The cross-media campaign entitled “A World Without 1” is dedicated to the early detection and prevention of type 1 diabetes © Helmholtz Munich/Dirk Deckbar

The start of the campaign was orchestrated by a press conference in Berlin: a high-caliber panel led by Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Director of the Institute for Diabetes Research at Helmholtz Munich, welcomed the journalists to the building of the federal press conference. After years of research into the causes of type 1 diabetes, Ziegler and her team have been able to develop a genetic test to identify children at risk at an early stage. Furthermore, clinical studies are currently underway to prevent the onset of the disease.*

"Translational research, i.e. the rapid and efficient implementation of preclinical research into clinical development and application, is of immense importance to us", Prof. Otmar D. Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association, stressed at the beginning of the event. "As the biggest research organization in Germany, it is our duty not just to conduct research for the sake of knowledge but also to offer society practical solutions to pressing problems. Without doubt, one such problem is type 1 diabetes, a metabolic disease that affects nearly 350,000 people in Germany with a growing number of cases. Yet public awareness of this disease is still low.”

Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, the initiator of the project, then described in clear terms how best to tackle this problem: "At the Institute for Diabetes Research of Helmholtz Munich, we have joined forces with other research institutions and hospitals – mainly within the framework of the international research project GPPAD – with the aim of improving the care for people with type 1 diabetes through early detection and preventing the onset of the disease. With the help of screening and prevention studies, we want to ensure that children with early-stage type 1 diabetes who have a high genetic risk will receive treatment to prevent the clinical manifestation of the disease. Our vision is a world without type 1 diabetes: A World Without 1!”

Professor Marion Kiechle, Director of the Gynecology Unit at Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, underscored the importance of preventive medicine today: “I’m convinced that prevention is the medicine of the future, and I myself am already conducting studies on the prevention of breast cancer with my team. There is no doubt that in many cases preventive care is best begun in childhood. The newborn screening, which has been carried out in Germany for around 50 years now, was a milestone in primary medical care, and I think we should certainly discuss whether type 1 diabetes should also be included in the list of diseases tested for in this way. If research into type 1 diabetes continues to make such big strides that may soon cease to be a question at all.”

This aspect was also emphasized by Dr. Astrid Glaser, Managing Director of the German Center for Diabetes Research: “The research that Anette Ziegler and her team are pursuing has the potential to prevent type 1 diabetes in the future. I am delighted that the outstanding work of the scientists has resulted in the fact that findings from basic research are now being further investigated in clinical trials coordinated from Germany.”

One such scientist is Prof. Dr. med. Olga Kordonouri, Deputy Medical Director of the AUF DER BULT Children’s and Youth Hospital in Hanover. She runs the local study center and deals with those affected everyday: “Of course it’s a blessing for type 1 diabetics that treatment with insulin exists. But insulin was first extracted by Frederick Banting nearly a century ago. It’s about time that we find other ways to treat people than making them stick insulin needles into their bodies up to 150,000 times in the course of their lives.” Karin Seyffarth then described how distressing the illness is in everyday life. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 17 and is now mother of two young daughters. Both are at increased risk of developing the disease and are enrolled in the prevention program.

It is precisely this translation of the findings from the laboratory into medical practice that scientists have been working towards for years. "At Helmholtz Munich, the team led by Prof. Ziegler has made a transformational step towards preventive medicine of the future,” said Prof. Matthias H. Tschöp, CEO of Helmholtz Munich. "Thanks to outstanding translational research, a genetic score has now been developed that is able to detect the risk of diabetes at a very early stage so that preventative measures can be taken even in healthy newborns. This pioneering achievement impressively shows how Helmholtz health research sustainably protects and improves life. At the same time, it demonstrates the cutting-edge expertise of the Munich Center in the field of children’s health.”

As part of the “A World Without 1” campaign, 1500 posters will be put up in Berlin, Munich, Hanover and Dresden in three phases over the next 50 days. This was only possible with the support of the Ströer company. In addition, the motifs will be shown on more than 560 info screens in 18 major German cities.

Further Information

* Type 1 diabetes is most likely to occur if specific risk-carrying genes are present. Children who carry such risk genes and develop diabetes usually have no relatives with diabetes. This means that the disease can affect anyone. In the early detection investigation of the Freder1k study, infants up to the age of four months are being tested for the presence of risk genes for type 1 diabetes using a few drops of blood. Around 1%, or 10 in every 1000 children, in Germany has risk genes for type 1 diabetes.

Children at increased risk will then have the opportunity to take part in a prevention study: Type 1 diabetes is caused by a misguided reaction of the immune system to the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, resulting in the destruction of those cells. The aim of the POInT study is to prevent the destruction of insulin-producing cells in children at increased risk for type 1 diabetes. In this study, an attempt is made to train the immune system so that no destructive reaction occurs. It is hoped that this goal can be achieved by administering insulin powder daily with a meal. In fact, the body's own insulin is often the first target of the immune response that leads to type 1 diabetes. Absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth and digestive tract, the insulin powder is meant to condition the immune system to tolerate the body's own insulin, and in doing so prevent the pathogenic immune reaction.

Background:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The disease can affect anyone, though it usually develops early in life and is the most common metabolic disease in children and adolescents. A total of 31,500 children and adolescents under the age of 20 are currently affected. A recent study in the journal Lancet has shown that potential damage to various organ systems greatly reduces the life expectancy of those affected (by up to 18 years). In addition, the disease has a huge impact on the daily lives of those affected, who are often very young and have to inject insulin up to 150,000 times in the course of their lives. The disease remains incurable.

As German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Munich pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, allergies and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Munich has about 2,500 staff members and is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. Helmholtz Munich is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 19 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members. 

The Institute of Diabetes Research (IDF) focuses on the understanding of the natural history of type 1 diabetes, on the identification of mechanisms and predictive markers of the disease, and the translation of findings into trials to prevent type 1 diabetes in man. In particular, the institute’s aim is to develop an immune tolerance using antigen-based therapy. The IDF conducts long-term studies to examine the link between genes, environmental factors and the immune system for the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. Findings of the BABYDIAB study, which was established in 1989 as the world’s first prospective birth cohort study, identified the first two years of life as being most susceptible for the initiation of type 1 diabetes associated autoimmunity. The Fr1da study is the first population-based approach for the early diagnosis type 1 diabetes associated autoimmunity in childhood. The IDF is part of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center (HDC).

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is a national association that brings together experts in the field of diabetes research and combines basic research, translational research, epidemiology and clinical applications. The aim is to develop novel strategies for personalized prevention and treatment of diabetes. Members are Helmholtz Munich – German Research Center for Environmental Health, the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of the Helmholtz Munich at the University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden and the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Munich at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tuebingen together with associated partners at the Universities in Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck and Munich.