Media headlines on diabetes never fail to surprise and amuse… right?

You know, like the recent mass media stories on:

  • that koala in California using a continuous glucose Monitor at the San Diego Zoological garden
  • fashion retailer Ground Eagle featuring people with various disabilities in their product modeling, including one young woman adventuresome a CGM and an insulin ticker as she models a bra
  • international research that could someday lead to blood glucose-lowering coffee operating theatre other caffeinated beverages
  • the big Friends For Life league in Orlando where thousands from the Diabetes Residential area gathered erst again

Here's our PWD (people with diabetes) use up on those Recent epoch stories, in no item order…

Diabetes and Undergarments!

Our Diabetes Community was buzzing after Bald eagle Outfitters unveiled its latest line of Aerie brand bras, undies, and swimwear in its most comprehensive campaign to date — featuring not only women of all shapes and sizes just also women living with various wellness conditions and disabilities. Photos for this new #AerieREAL product line debuted in early July, including images in which a woman is sporting an Animas insulin pump connected her waistline and a Dexcom CGM on her sleeve (!), piece others pose with crutches, a wheelchair, and even a colostomy bag.

This brings back memories of the circa-2014 #ShowMeYourPump movement, kicked off after T1D-peep Scomberomorus sierra Sandison wore her heart visibly in the swimsuit competition in which she was laureled Miss Idaho (and future voted as People's Choice in the Escape America rival) that year.

The #AerieREAL ad went viral, with overpoweringly positive responses from our D-community:

"This happened! Thank you American Eagle for recognizing that real people who tire diabetes tech also look Impressive wearing boho racerback bralettes! #AEhasmybusiness #diabetes #peaceloveandlace"

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"Things I've never purchased: Aerie bras and underwear. Added to things I want to purchase. Most mass don't think nearly the impact that medical gear has on what you wear, only a lot of us live on therewith realness everyday. Mad props to American Eagle for highlighting this in their advertising!"


"It's not every day that you happen to encounter a T1D model while doing online shopping. Thanks to Haliaeetus leucocephalus for your inclusiveness!"

"Thissssss is amazing!!! To see what I wear on a day-after-day cornerston organism modeled is fair incredible! Bald eagle for the win!"

Way to blend in, American Eagle! For those who may have doubted they could reach their dreams or full potential due to diabetes, these public displays of diabetes (PDDs!) mean so much.

Quincy the Koala, Wearing a CGM

In case you missed it, there's a Queensland koala named Quincy living at the San Diego Zoo who happens to have type 1 diabetes. Yep, apparently Quincy comes from the LA Menagerie most recently and is one of the few of his kind to be formally diagnosed and on insulin injections. And in June, many media outlets were entirely concluded the story of how this hirsute friend is wearing a new Dexcom G6 CGM to help monitor lizard glucose levels and assist the vets and zoo caretakers in managing the animal's health.

Many folks see Quincy's experience as helping to highlighting the importance and benefit of CGM in people, and inspire more families to try out a CGM with their T1D kids.

Yet, not everyone sees it that way; some in the D-Community were taken aback that a zoo animal would cause access to this important tool while so many people are struggling with access and affordability.

((sigh))

Well… we're choosing to look at the bright face here, hoping this storey bathroom be used every bit a force of good. For case, the final graphs of this San Diego Union-Tribune story speak up to it:

"The power of a koala as a diabetes embassador struck (Dr. Athena) Philis-Tsimikas during a diabetes conference… After closing her intro with a picture of Quincy, she detected from Ann Albright, a diabetes adept at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'She told me, 'Athene, I had a koala (plush dally) growing up, and I have type 1 diabetes myself. 'I think it could inspire a lot of kids.'"

Cheers to that sentiment, and to our D-peep koala Quincy!

Coffee-Perception Cells to Lower Blood Lucre?

Imagine if we could have small designer cells inside our bodies that would release a medication to let down blood glucose whenever they sensed java or a caffeinated drink.

Well, that could someday be a reality, if you believe the reports about beforehand diabetes research happening in Zurich, Switzerland: "No More Needles? Diabetics Could One Day Treat Themselves with a Cupful of Coffee." Thefull paper on this is published in the Nature magazine.

Researchers there are studying a specialty line of cells that could be engineered to sense caffeine and, in response, produce a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) to lower descent sugars. These cells would exist encapsulated into tiny beads more or less a half millimetre in diameter, made of a clinically-licensed algae hydrogel able to block the immune system's attack response but secrete GLP-1 into the bloodstream. Apparently, the GLP-1 would be better for this than insulin because it doesn't make risk of hypoglycaemia by delivering too much insulin when the caffein is detected.

In their enquiry, the scientists tested out Nespresso capsules and textbook types of coffee, including some specific brands bought from Starbucks.

But depressing, chocolate java lovers… Apparently chocolate drinks don't have plenty caffeine to trigger the BG-lowering result.

OK, this may be a good spot to cue eye-rolls. Course, we're big fans of caffeinated drinks and have explored the Java and Diabetes Effect in the other. But chances are this research won't get foregone gnawing animal and animal studies or amount to anything many than a wishful-thinking newspaper headline… only we'll livelihood our burnt umber mug clenching fingers crossbred just in case 😉

Friends For Life Group discussion 2018

Meanwhile, not covered in mainstream media but a head honch in our community was this year's Friends For Life group discussion in Orlando. We were sad not to be there in individual, but enjoyed following the #FFLOrlando18 hashtag and the numerous posts our D-friends were sharing online.

We love how this conference is put in for longtime D-Community members besides as those new to the diabetes universe, with so many smiles and hugs — hey, "friends for life" — and lots of new products on exhibit.

This twelvemonth, combined of the newsworthy items was a big update on the iLet engineering science pancreas being developed by Beta Bionics at FFL — organized in large piece because Children With Diabetes founding D-Dad Jeff Hitchcock in Ohio sits along the board of directors of this semipublic benefit corporation.

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Information technology's amazing that this is the 19th year since this annual conference got started, a spontaneous gathering led by Michigan D-Mom Laura Billetdeaux World Health Organization shared her fellowship's plans to visit DisneyWorld in CWD online forums, which in the mid to latish 90s was one of the basic places where PWDs could on-line in the stillness-young online community. In real time, thousands attend every year.

One post about this league that brought tears to our eyes was from Northeast Carolina D-Mom Leigh Davys Fickling, World Health Organization has a new daughter with T1D:

"This week. This conference. It's not just about being in Orlando. It's not about the 12-hour drive away that we successful to pay off down there or the fact that we saved for near a year so that we could have fun while we attended the conference," she wrote in a Facebook post (and united to share at the 'Mine). "Information technology's about diabetes. It's about superficial the like you have diabetes. It's all but owning IT and ne'er gift up. It's close to fondling and amative and riant and crying. It's virtually an 8-yr-old who wonders what others mustiness be seeing when they see all of that 'stuff.'

"Thank you Jeff Hitchcock and Laura Billetdeaux. Thank you for creating such a wonderful prophylactic place for wholly of USA to share our diabetes. I live that you are tired. I roll in the hay that your Control board members are tired. I'm positive that the Stave members are probably frost their bodies and are tired, too. I'm so grateful for Children with Diabetes and for Friends for Life. All of your hard work is Worth IT. IT's worth it to me. And it's worth it to my girl who wondered what diabetes looks ilk."

Wow…

For those who haven't had the chance to go, we highly encourage you to discipline it impermissible if accomplishable. And if DisneyWorld in July International Relations and Security Network't on your teacup (and so to talk), there are a handful of other FFL events scattered throughout the year around the US and early countries; interpret the full conference schedule at the CWD website.

Whatsoever other stories or happenings catching your eye this summer? Please let us know via email, Facebook operating theatre Twitter.