Nearly 100 families with children with type 1 diabetes attended our UCSF's Pediatric Symposium & Kids Kamp on Saturday, October 4. The symposium was sponsored by Animas Corporation and Aventis. Kids Kamp, sponsored by Novo Nordisk, was a hit with all of our pediatric children and their siblings.

For parents, a distinguished panel of speakers shared the "latest and greatest" involving type 1 diabetes prevention, treatment and potential cures:

Stephen Gitelman, MD, Director of the Pediatric Diabetes Program at UCSF discussed the history of type 1 prevention efforts including Diabetes Prevention Trial Type 1 (DPT1) to reduce insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in first degree relatives of those with diabetes. He also discussed current protocols being considered by TrialNet, a collaborative network of 14 centers in North America that includes UCSF. Numerous interventions are under consideration by TrialNet including antigen-based therapies, immunosuppressive regimens and nutritional interventions. We here at UCSF are also working on a phase I/II study of our very own hOKT3gamma1(Ala-Ala) that has shown great promise in inhibiting further beta cell destruction in patients with new onset diabetes. The UCSF team hopes to conduct clinical trials of "pre-diabetic" children soon, to investigate whether this same drug can act as a vaccine and prevent type 1 diabetes altogether.

Laurie Gandrud, MD of Stanford Medical Center discussed new technologies in diabetes management that can improve the quality of life for those living with type 1 diabetes. Numerous companies are in various stages of development of "continuous glucose monitoring systems" (CGMS), including MiniMed Medtronic, Cygnus, and Therasense. The potential benefits of CGMS are numerous, including prevention of nocturnal hypoglycemia and overall improvement in diabetes management. Both UCSF and Stanford have been involved in several studies of CGMS involving pediatric patients. These blood glucose sensors, combined with an insulin pump, could form a closed loop system that would act as an artificial pancreas, responding to insulin need as it occurs.
Matt Vogel, of LogiMedix a triathlete and marathon runner with type 1 diabetes, offered helpful tips on managing exercise and diabetes.

Andrea Aiello, RD, CSP spoke about celiac disease and diabetes. Celiac disease is an autoimmune genetic disorder affecting 1 in 250 Americans and between 5-8% of people with insulin-dependent diabetes. In celiac disease, ingestion of wheat gluten or related proteins causes the immune system to attack the tissue of the small intestine, gradually resulting in malabsorption. Children with celiac disease must eat a gluten-free diet to allow for full growth and to help decrease the risk of gastrointestinal cancer and other complications. For more information, contact the Celiac Disease Foundation (www.celiac.org ) or the Celiac Sprue Association ( www.csaceliacs.org).

As well, UCSF Endocrinologist and Clinical Researcher, Umesh Masharani, MD, gave a highly anticipated presentation about pancreas and islet transplantation. Since 1966 when the first pancreas was transplanted, over 1200 pancreatic transplants have been performed in the US. In general, pancreas transplants are very successful at diminishing the long-term complications of diabetes. Islet transplantation, however has taken center stage since the development of the Edmonton Protocol in the year 2000. Dr. Masharani discussed UCSF's new state-of-the-art, GMP-certified islet facility and UCSF's plans for clinical research studies in both pancreas and islet transplantation.

Thank you to all who helped make the first UCSF Pediatric Diabetes Symposium such a resounding success!