'First Big Step Towards a Cure': Revolutionary Type 1 Diabetes Drug at OU Health

A breakthrough in Type 1 diabetes research has made its way to the metro: a drug that can actually slow down the progression of the disease.

A patient at OU Children's Hospital just became the first person in Oklahoma to receive the revolutionary new Type 1 diabetes drug, and the doctor leading the charge calling it the first step towards a cure for the disease.

Type 1 diabetes affects 1 in every 300 people in the United States. It's an autoimmune disease where a person’s body doesn't naturally produce insulin.

"Insulin is the key that allows our body to absorb the food that we eat," pediatric endocrinologist Dr. David Sparling said. "The only thing we've been able to do for about a hundred years now is give insulin to people. There really hasn't been any advances beyond getting better insulins."

But that advancement is here.

"So, this is the first time ever that we have had a drug that's really trying to slow down the progression of the disease," Dr. Sparling said.

Insulin is reactive, but the new drug, Tzield, is proactive.

"It's our first big step towards a cure,” Dr. Sparling said.

Instead of replacing what the body is missing, Tzield seeks to attack the problem before it develops.

"We finally have a treatment that gets at the root cause of diabetes," Dr. Sparling said. "It's finally exciting to be able to say we've got something for you now, we can slow this down."

The drug is an infusion given every day for 14 days and works best in pediatric patients who haven't reached stage 3, or clinical diagnosis, with Type 1 diabetes.

"We've learned that people whose family members have Type 1 diabetes are at a considerably higher risk,” Dr. Sparling said.

That's how they found their first patient to receive the drug at Oklahoma Children's Hospital.

"We think that we'll be able to delay this young ladies’ treatment for years and years, which is exciting," he said.

Dr. Sparling added that the future of Type 1 diabetes research is bright.

"It's an exciting first step,” he said.

Experts say that in the most successful cases, it could delay patients' need for insulin for up to 10 years, which is invaluable time for families, according to Dr. Sparling.