Type 2 diabetes has a ton of research, as well as a massive list of medications and lifestyle changes used to manage symptoms and complications. This is great for men and women diagnosed with Type 2 and offers a lot of hope and support. Unfortunately, Type 1 diabetics do not experience the same level of support.

Research on Type 1 diabetes is usually limited. This is due, in part, to the fewer numbers of Type 1 sufferers and to the fact that Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder which does not readily respond to the simple changes of diet and exercise. Although diet and exercise do offer benefits to Type 1 diabetics, this help comes more in the form of managing insulin administration rather than removing it altogether.

Type 1 VS Type 2

The origin of Type 1 has long held a fascination for researchers since it is not easily identifiable. Genetics play a factor, as do some lifestyle habits, but the greatest source of its onset is still largely a mystery. Type 1 is typically diagnosed in childhood, though it has (rarely) been diagnosed in adulthood.

Type 1 differs from Type 2, in that it is not a response to a lifetime of unhealthy habits or poor blood sugar control, but is an actual autoimmune disorder wherein the body essentially attacks and subdues the pancreas, making insulin production impossible.

Viruses and Type 1

Interestingly, researchers may have found a link to a group of viruses and the onset of Type 1 diabetes. The viruses are quite common, including hand, foot, and mouth disease and often affect children between the ages of 1 and 5. In some children, the incidence of these viruses creates a chain reaction, which disables the body’s ability to correctly discern between healthy cells and unhealthy cells, eventually leading to autoimmune disorders such as Type 1.

Finding this link, alone, was a tremendous step forward in understanding Type 1 diabetes and all that it entails, but researchers were able to take this research one step further and are currently working on a vaccine designed to eliminate the viruses associated with autoimmunity, thereby limiting the number of new diagnoses.

The “Type 1” Vaccine

To be clear, the vaccine under development (and due to start clinical trials in 2018) is not actually a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes itself but is geared toward preventing the viruses associated with its development. This means that, from infancy or young childhood, you may be inoculated against certain harmful viruses that adversely affect the body, leading to the eventual onset of autoimmune disorders.