0:00 Researchers just built a super microscope for type 1 diabetics. [music] It detects hidden insulin signals that we've never seen before, proving that your body may be doing [music] more work than you even thought. Let's get into this and unpack the details together on type 1 diabetic warriors. >> Breakthrough T1D biioarker tech detecting hidden insulin like never before. Most of the time when we talk about type 1 diabetes research, it's about new drugs, new cells, or new devices. [music] Today, I want to look at something way less flashy, but potentially just as [music] important. A new way to actually measure what's happening to your beta cells. Researchers at the University of Buffalo have developed lab technology that can detect tiny protein [music]
0:46 signals related to insulin production that we've basically missed until now. [music] It's more like a better microscope for type one. And that might sound boring until you [music] realize that if we can see the disease more clearly, we can diagnose it earlier, stage [music] it better, and design smarter treatment plans and clinical trials. Let me walk you through what they've done, how it works, and [music] why I think this matters for anyone living with or at risk for type 1 diabetes. Right now, when someone's dealing with type 1, here's what we usually measure. [music] C peptide to see how much insulin your body is still making. Auto antibodies like GAD or IA2 [music] can be used to see if the immune system is attacking and of course blood sugars and A1C helpful? Yes. [music] Precise? No,
1:35 not really. Ceptide gives a rough idea of how much insulin is being [music] produced, but it doesn't tell us much about what's happening inside individual beta cells or how stressed they are. Auto antibodies tell us there's an attack going on, but not how fast it's progressing or exactly how much beta cell function has already been lost. It's kind of like trying to diagnose a car problem by only looking at the exhaust fumes. You get some clues, but you're still guessing about what's actually happening under the hood. That's the gap this new biomarker tech is trying to [music] close. At the University of Buffalo, a team led by Professor Junu has been working on a super sensitive lab method called liquid [music] chromatography mass spectrometry
2:20 or LCMS. You don't need to remember the name. [music] Think of it as a hypersensitive lab scanner that can pick up tiny protein molecules in the blood that older tests just couldn't see. Here's what makes their approach special. They can measure three different forms of pro-inssulin. That's the precursor to insulin that beta cells make. [music] And they can measure C peptide all from the same blood sample at [music] extremely low concentrations that used to be basically invisible. So instead of just knowing yes or no, you make some insulin [music] they can start to see more detailed patterns in how the beta cells are functioning and processing pro-inssulin into [music] insulin. They tested this in three groups of people. People at risk for type 1, people recently
3:06 diagnosed with type 1, and people without diabetes. [music] Using this more sensitive tech, they could detect protein patterns and subtle signals that our current clinical tests completely miss. It's like upgrading from a blurry black and white security camera to a 4K video feed. [music] The pancreas has been doing things all along, but now we can actually see the finer details. So why does being able to see these tiny protein signals matter? Because accurate staging of type 1 is crucial for predicting how fast the disease will progress, deciding who might benefit most from certain therapies, and [music] designing better treatment plans in the real world. We already talked about stage 1, stage two, and stage three, [music] type one. Stage one, auto antibodies, but normal
3:52 blood sugars. Stage two, auto antibodies [music] plus some glucose changes. Stage three, full clinical diagnosis. The problem is those stages [music] are still pretty broad. Two people in stage two can be on very different paths. With a more precise biioarker panel like this, doctors and researchers might be able to spot at risk people earlier [music] before a big chunk of beta cells is destroyed. See how quickly someone's beta cells are failing, not just that they're failing. [music] Identify who still has meaningful residual beta cell function and match the right patient to the right clinical trial at the right moment. [music] Now bring this down to the individual level. If you're in the honeymoon [music] phase, a test like this could potentially give you and your
4:37 endocrinologist a clearer picture of how much [music] beta cell function you have left. Whether it's stable, improving with a therapy, or dropping fast, that kind of information could help fine-tune [music] your insulin dosing strategy. Expectations about how long the honeymoon might last and whether you might be a good candidate for a beta cell preserving therapy or amunotherapy trial. This work is also tied into a larger national effort called the Tamador Consortium. They're trying to [music] build these kinds of protein-based biomarkers to track diabetes and obesity more accurately over time. This is not a test you can go ask your endo [music] for next week. It has to be validated in larger groups of people. The methods have to be
5:23 standardized so different labs can reproduce [music] the results and then it has to go through the usual regulatory and clinical pathways. [music] The funding behind this project is substantial, which is a good sign, but we're talking years, not months. That said, even at this stage, this kind of measurement tech can quietly speed things up in the background. It can make clinical trials smarter. It can help researchers know more quickly if a therapy is truly protecting beta cells, and it can help separate this looks promising from this is actually doing something measurable at the cellular [music] level. A lot of headlines chase the flashy stuff. Tears, transplants, new drugs. I think [music] it's just as important to watch the tools that help us measure what's going on [music] because you
6:10 can't truly improve what you can't measure accurately. [music] If you'd like more videos on the behind-the-scenes science like this, the measurement tools, not just the big [music] headlines, let me know in the comments. And as always, if you live with type 1 [music] or love someone who does, you are not alone. We'll keep following the science together. >> All right, then. Kudos to the University of Buffalo. This is [music] what I call deep scientific research. Discovering hidden insulin that we've never seen before. So, that might that could mean several [music] things. That could mean that uh the attack on the beta cells wasn't [music] complete uh or it was delayed. We're finding so many more pieces to this puzzle really
6:56 almost on a monthly basis. [music] So, I take this as a positive. It's nothing that's, you know, going to be at our disposal in the next year or [music] so, but it is all part of what I call a big puzzle. I hope you like that. We'll have another video for you here on type 1 [music] diabetic warriors real soon. Don't forget to hit the like and subscribe. And if you so desire, [music] you can always go to the link in the homepage and buy us a coffee. That helps us to keep chugging here. And we'll talk to you again here in just [music] a few days. Until then, be well and take care.
