Diabetes Symposium

TRANSFORMING LIVES: 100 YEARS OF INSULIN

Last year, on 24 November, the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre, Healthier Lives National Science Challenge, Lions International, and Diabetes NZ collaborated on hosting a symposium at Parliament.

Parliament’s Grand Hall welcomed nurses, doctors, researchers, advocates, and more. They all gathered to listen to diabetes experts from around New Zealand and Australia, facilitated by Professor Jeremy Krebs and Dr Rosemary Hall. The theme of the symposium was to celebrate 100 years of insulin.

The scene was set by Professor Sir Jim Mann, who took the audience back 100 years, to imagine what it was like to be diagnosed with diabetes in a very different time. He said that this was a time of glass syringes and steel needles that needed sharpening when they became blunt. Blood glucose tests had to be sent off to a laboratory. But despite New Zealand being more isolated back then, the first Kiwi to be treated with insulin received it the very same year as the first person in the world, a Canadian.

Ashburton farmer Mr Neil Stockdill shared his experiences, saying that in April of this year he will have been living with diabetes for 70 years. Diagnosed at 12, he spoke about having to test his urine in a test tube, over a Bunsen burner, in the corner of his bedroom. ‘If it turned blue, then it was good. If it turned orange, it was not bad. And if it turned red, then it was time to consider how much insulin to take.’

These methods of testing were clumsy and unreliable. Neil spoke of the relief and safety of now having a CGM and pump.

Associate Professor Ben Wheeler shared studies of two young adults, one with frequent hospitalisations who was at extremely high risk for early complications and death. Ben estimated this young man’s HbA1c to be one of the worst in the world, at three times the average. Six months after trialling a CGM, his HbA1c dropped more than 100 points.

The main topic each speaker returned to was technology, namely CGMs, and the need for fair and easy access to them.

Endocrinologist Dr Ryan Paul outlined the inequities that type 2 diabetes creates in Aotearoa New Zealand, within Māori and, more so, Pasifika. He reported that this isn’t ethnicity related but driven around access to care.

His plea was to the government for better funding and to Pharmac for access to the latest medicines.

‘I hope the words here diffuse out from these walls, to get the change we need.’

Other speakers included Dr Damian Wiseman, cycling coach for Paralympics NZ, and Professor Jenny Couper, Head of the Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide, who spoke about the origins of type 1 among children. Renza Scibilia, an advocate from Australia, provided background on the ‘slow burn’ activism needed to get CGMs fully funded in her homeland.

Brianna Veale, who describes herself as a ‘16-year-old type 1 diabetic warrior’, shared her and her brother’s journeys navigating diabetes. She echoed others’ experiences of having their lives changed by technology. ‘CGMs are my key to the light at the end of the tunnel.’

1. At the symposium: Catherine Taylor, Heather Verry, Pam Fiveash, Wendy Goodwin, Alice McDonald, and Jim Mann.

2. Sianne Chapman receives her Silver Medal Award for successfully managing diabetes with insulin for more than 25 years.

3. David Town receives the Sir Charles Burns Memorial Award for successfully managing diabetes with insulin for at least 50 years.

4. Winner of the Diabetes NZ Award Ruby McGill joining Catherine Taylor at the podium.

5. Catherine Taylor takes the mic to ask a question at the symposium.

AWARD WINNERS

The symposium concluded with the presentation of three DNZ Awards by Catherine Taylor, chair of the DNZ Board:

• Sianne Chapman – Silver Medal Award for successfully managing diabetes with insulin for more than 25 years.

• David Town – Sir Charles Burns Memorial Award for successfully managing diabetes with insulin for at least 50 years.

• Ruby McGill – Diabetes NZ Award for making a significant contribution to support those with diabetes in Aotearoa New Zealand.