As we at the JDCA have been focusing on our prevention vs a cure theme in recent weeks, seeking to clarify where exactly we stand on the issue and why we need attitudes towards a type 1 diabetes cure to change, we have released our latest video, directed by Nick Masercola from our Outreach team, that focuses on this discussion.
As a reminder, only 5 out of 333 projects currently in human clinical trials focused on type 1 diabetes sets goals that may meet our definition of a Practical Cure. This is a very low number, and a good deal of that research money is going into projects focused on prevention alone.
The JDCA believes that the belief that prevention techniques will eventually lead to a cure is a myth. If we take examples from medical history, we simply have no reason to expect such an outcome – and even less to expect it anytime soon, or within our lifetime. Our video uses polio as an example of a disease which has a successful prevention method but no actual cure.
Moreover, prevention techniques, if successful, might help those who do not yet have the disease, but they do not address the struggles of the millions still living with type 1 diabetes.
Read more about our stance in our Prevention Does Not Lead to a Cure report.
We need to advocate and fight to prevent the diabetes industry from falling into the same predicament. We can not be satisfied only with a prevention method, we need to fight for all the children and adults who face a lifetime of living with type 1 diabetes – unless we can get the diabetes foundations to change their course of action and focus on a tangible, achievable Practical Cure.
What do you think about our video? Let us know!
– Stoyan
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