{"id":4206,"date":"2010-01-20T13:43:38","date_gmt":"2010-01-20T18:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:44:31","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:44:31","slug":"a-blast-from-the-past-diabetes-in-1999","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206","title":{"rendered":"A Blast From The Past: Diabetes in 1999"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning I was feeling inspired by the interview I did with JDRF’s Aaron Kowalski<\/a> about the\u00a0Artificial Pancreas Project, \u00a0so I did a little google searching about artificial pancreases. \u00a0I was looking for recent news, but instead I came across this article from the New York Times<\/a>, published on December 7, 1999 — just over 10 years ago. In 1999 I didn’t even have diabetes — I was a college junior, happily eating carbohydrates without fear. But people with Type 1 diabetes might have read this article and gotten a little excited. Check out its lede:<\/p>\n

One day soon, perhaps as soon as a few years, many diabetics may forever throw away the lancets they use to prick their fingers for blood sugar tests and the needles they use to inject themselves with insulin.<\/p>\n

Instead, they may be wearing bracelets or even earrings smart enough to sense and report glucose levels continuously to an artificial pancreas: a surgically embedded pump that dispenses just the right amount of insulin into their bloodstreams.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whoof, that’s funny, isn’t it? I think living with diabetes requires a certain level of gallows humor to begin with, but there’s something especially cruel about how every couple years (or, hell, months) a news report comes along promising that “within a few years,” the hassles and burden of living with diabetes is going to be removed. (And with cute earrings, to boot.) \u00a0The problem is that “within a few years” is the equivalent of “tomorrow” — forever pushed into the future. Also depressing: as recently as 1999, there were only an estimated one million people in the United States with Type 1 diabetes. Today, there are closer to three million.<\/p>\n

But part of the article is actually very inspiring — \u00a0because while we might not be wearing glucose-sensing jewelry yet, some of the hypothetical technologies it describes actually have come to exist. Take, for example, the end of this paragraph (it starts with the mandatory explanation of what can happen if things go wrong):<\/p>\n

Diabetics who can maintain normal or close-to-normal levels of blood sugar, or glucose, reduce the risk of grave complications like amputation, blindness, nerve damage, heart disease and kidney failure. A continuous glucose sensor, even one that is not yet connected to an automatic insulin dispenser, might help to reduce these risks. It might also be a valuable alarm clock when blood sugar drops. When that happens, people sometimes lose consciousness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And guess what? It’s 2010 and, while still not widely in use, we have continuous glucometers — three different kinds to choose from. Hell, mine woke me up just last night to warn me of an impending low. That’s pretty amazing. And then check out this:<\/p>\n

Dr. Siegel pointed out that the technology [i.e. getting a fully closed loop artificial pancreas] <\/em>still had many challenges to overcome. ”We have one arm of it, the insulin pump,” he said. ”When a reliable, miniaturized sensor is in place to monitor glucose constantly, the artificial pancreas will be far closer to reality.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That was the point that Aaron Kowalski made to me about last week’s announcement to create the first commercial partially closed loop system: today, unlike in 1999, all the components are actually on the table. Like all good diabetics, Kowalski — who’s \u00a0had type 1 for some 25 years — knows better than to put a hard timeline on things. But he’s still optimistic — and as a consequence, so am I. The artificial pancreas is going to happen. And I hope that if I write this same blog post in 2020, what seems hypothetical today will have become reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[415,115,381,369],"yoast_head":"\nPast decade sees huge advances in diabetes care<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An article from the New York Times in 1999 shows how far we've come in Type 1 diabetes care over the past 10 years -- and highlights how far we still have to go.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Catherine Price\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206\",\"name\":\"Past decade sees huge advances in diabetes care\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-20T18:43:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:44:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f16ebb52b0d6b1882336149c48618b74\"},\"description\":\"An article from the New York Times in 1999 shows how far we've come in Type 1 diabetes care over the past 10 years -- and highlights how far we still have to go.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Blast From The Past: Diabetes in 1999\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f16ebb52b0d6b1882336149c48618b74\",\"name\":\"Catherine Price\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/991f86d105bb54022be9be587aa788fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/991f86d105bb54022be9be587aa788fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Catherine Price\"},\"description\":\"Catherine Price was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men\u2019s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley\u2019s Graduate School of Journalism\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=9\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Past decade sees huge advances in diabetes care","description":"An article from the New York Times in 1999 shows how far we've come in Type 1 diabetes care over the past 10 years -- and highlights how far we still have to go.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Catherine Price","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206","name":"Past decade sees huge advances in diabetes care","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","datePublished":"2010-01-20T18:43:38+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:44:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f16ebb52b0d6b1882336149c48618b74"},"description":"An article from the New York Times in 1999 shows how far we've come in Type 1 diabetes care over the past 10 years -- and highlights how far we still have to go.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4206#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Blast From The Past: Diabetes in 1999"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f16ebb52b0d6b1882336149c48618b74","name":"Catherine Price","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/991f86d105bb54022be9be587aa788fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/991f86d105bb54022be9be587aa788fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Catherine Price"},"description":"Catherine Price was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men\u2019s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley\u2019s Graduate School of Journalism","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=9"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}