New funding could be the turning point for a cure against type-1 diabetes.

Cardiff University will receive £2.9 million in funding from the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK and JDRF UK in hopes of creating new treatments, and potentially a cure, for type-1 diabetes.

Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. There is currently no cure of the condition.

Dr Lucy Chambers is head of research communications at Diabetes UK and lives with type-1 diabetes. She explains just how outdated current treatments for diabetes are.

"Exactly 100 years ago insulin was discovered, and that is still the only treatment we have for type-1 diabetes.

"Since that time, obviously there have been decades of research into type-1 diabetes. We know a lot more about the causes, how to manage it better, how to deal with complications a bit better, but we're still using insulin which we used for 100 years".

Over 400,000 people in the UK are living with type 1 diabetes, including 16,000 people in Wales.  

Cardiff University will use the funding to research to work out how to stop the immune system from attacking insulin, targeting the root cause of type-1 diabetes.

Dr Chambers says this could lead to big leaps forward in the search for a cure of the condition.

"I am not saying a cure is around the corner, but I can say... I am confident in my lifetime there will be new treatments that mean I am managing my type-1 diabetes in a different way, even having a cure for the condition entirely".

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