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Much buzz has been going around the diabetes community about the recent announcement of the JDRF/Animas partnership to develop a "first generation artificial pancreas", and rightly so. The ability to eat like a "normal person", to not have to worry about debilitating highs and lows, to be able to sleep without fear of not waking up again... these are things which are, quoth Hamlet, "devoutly to be wish'd". That the road between here and there is not so simple a passage as we might hope, is well-known, and much littered with papers sporting words like "cure", "encapsulation", "transplant", "gene therapy", and -- of course -- "artificial pancreas". (READ MORE)

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"In the unfortunate event that Mr. Lopez is to catch diabetes like he caught that baseball, we at Pan "Cre" Us would like to reassure this young hero that he'll be taken care of," Vanetta, an avid Yankee fan, added.

Lopez says he plans to use the artificial pancreas as a paperweight for piles of hundred dollar bills.

The donation of the artificial pancreas comes on the heels of a whirlwind week for 23-year-old Christian Lopez, who caught and returned Derek Jeter's historic 3,000th hit.

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We have been promised a cure for decades. It's always just around the corner. There was the seaweed and islet cell transplant success that I remember quite vividly. There were pancreas transplants. The stem cell rejuvenation talk. And recently, there has been a large movement towards the artificial pancreas.

And now, JDRF, Animas, and Dexcom have teamed up to do just that. Build me an artificial pancreas. Okay, not me personally. But maybe, someday.

But what does an artificial pancreas actually mean for me? Well first, this first-generation AP (yep, I'm shortening it) utilizes an insulin pump and CGM sensor to continually monitor blood sugar levels then either give or stop insulin as needed. We'd still be bolusing for meals, but the daily hassle of tracking every change would be lessened.

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Had he been awake, he probably wouldn’t have appreciated the pink straw in his mouth. But we were out of juice boxes and the box of straws had been picked clean of all its blues and greens.

Sounds are louder at 2 am. The trigger snap and pop of the pricker. My bare feet smacking the wood floor. My sloth-like descent down the stairs and the familiar creaks in the wood that groan under my weight.

I don’t need to tell you. You know.

His eyelids bend open just slightly and quiver like closed moth wings. His mouth opens on cue.

"Good, Charlie. Just a little more."

One eye opens and then closes.

While he drinks, I think about the news of the artificial pancreas. Everything is always four to five years away it seems. It’s not a cure, but it’s something.

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1.

I was walking into the store as they were walking out (couldn't wait to feel the rush of cold air after walking from my car to the front of the grocery store; 9 p.m. and still 100 degrees outside. Autumn, please?).

I noticed him first: shorter than I am (a lot of people are... I'm 5'10"), muscular, tan skin, seemed confident in himself, attractive, but mostly I noticed the muscular.

She seemed just as confident. I noticed how thin she was and attractive and how short her shorts were.

As we passed I looked forward, but somehow noticed something that made me turn back. Something white. And round. And ... was that... tubing? Yes! An infusion set on the outside of her thigh! I saw it! It was like finding Waldo. Such exhilaration!

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After a bit of small talk, I asked our nurse practitioner if there has been any chatter around the office about the artificial pancreas.

"No," she said, nodding her head.

"Nothing about the big news from the FDA?" I asked.

She nodded her head again. "Nope."

I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting. Did I think she would enthusiastically say, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"  and then produce a blank sign-up sheet and a sparkly ballpoint pen?

"As a matter of fact, yes, we've all been extremely excited about it and guess what, Charlie? You are first on the list for an artificial pancreas!"

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When it comes to finding a cure, I'm not exactly picky. I'm ready and willing for whatever we can successfully bring about to get rid of this disease. Last year, I even looked into a clinical trial for islet cell transplant therapy. I give my money to research for this disease so one day my future won't include finger sticks and insulin injections.

JDRF announced last year and reiterated this year that the focus is shifting from solely looking for a cure for type 1 diabetes to general treatment and complication therapy. That was a tough pill to swallow. And sometimes still is, even though I currently work at JDRF. I want a cure, not a newer nicer meter or a pump that does it all. I want this gone for good.

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Over the past few posts, you've seen me comment about diabetes technology -- mostly hardware and supplies -- in the context of a particular issue (hot weather or availability), but nothing really in terms of what I would like to see healthcare providers do in terms of better using existing technology, as well as what I should like to see pharmaceutical companies, software companies, and device manufacturers develop going forward. Because of the length of my wish list, I'm going to break this up into two posts.

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