September 30, 1993 The Lancet published the results of the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. The conclusion was clear: intensive insulin treatment does lead to significant improvement in glycaemic control and reduction of the risk for diabetes complications. What was unclear at that time, was if this effect could be maintained over the years. The 7-year follow-up of the DCCT cohort by the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Research Group published in JAMA in 2002, revealed that the benefits of intensive treatment extend well beyond its most intensive implementation.
Download a slide presentation dedicated to DCCT and EDIC.

10 Years DCCT – Reducing the Risk of Hypoglycaemia
Reducing the risk of microvascular complications had a price for the patients – this reduction was achieved on the expense of a 3-fold increase in severe hypoglycaemic events. Hypoglycaemia is still the most common side effect of insulin treatment. Finding the balance between food, exercise, emotions and insulin in order to achieve good control is a challenging task for patients. Education is key, however overcoming the problem of the day-to-day variability in food intake, exercise and emotions is virtually impossible. As far as insulin is concerned, in the years after the DCCT the insulin manufacturers have offered preparations with less variability in absorption and better predictability in action – the insulin analogues. Most of them have a proven record of reducing hypoglycaemia risk compared with human insulin.
Read full-text article from Diabetes Care.

10 Years DCCT – Beyond Insulin Therapy
The hope for future without insulin is getting a new dimension. In 2000 Dr James Shapiro and his team published the first results of successful islet cell transplantation using corticosteroid-free protocol for immunosuppression known as the Edmonton Protocol. At this year 63rd Scientific Sessions of the ADA Dr Shapiro reported the 3-year results of islet cell transplantation of 48 patients who have undergone percutaneous transhepatic portal islet infusion, and then immunosuppressed according to the Edmonton Protocol. One big obstacle facing this procedure is the availability of fresh islet cells. Stem cells research provides some hope, but how far are we from the cure of type 1 diabetes?
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