[MUSIC]. We're back in Chicago. I'm Anna Baker reporting from the American Diabetes Association 73rd Scientific Sessions. The largest diabetes meeting in the world. The Association just held a joint symposium with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, JDRF. That touched on a potpourri of new research related to type 1 diabetes. These were big questions with complicated answers, so I'll just touch on a few of the highlights. First, why have cases increased in recent decades? Like type 2 diabetes, type 1 has been on the rise globally. We know that type 2 is associated with obesity and aging, but the cause of the increase in type 1 remain unclear. And finding out just how much type 1 is increasing overall has not been easy. Researchers have run into hurdles collecting data, particularly in low income countries. Now, what are the triggers and risk factors for type 1 diabetes and can we start diagnosing it earlier? Those researchers are still searching for answers for how to prevent type 1. They have created tools for accurately predicting who is at highest risk. One study identified factors that best predicted who would develop type 1 diabetes and they even created a risk score for it. These factors included BMI, age, fasting C-peptide lvels, a measure of overall C-peptide production, and a measure of overall glucose. Scientists found that they could apply this data to data from another study and predict who would ultimately be diagnosed. This was even true for those who had normal glucose tolerance but who are still at risk, in part because it takes age into account. It turns out that using glucose thresholds for adults may not be appropriate for children. A second study tries to more broadly predict type 1 diabetes and its potential triggers. Most new cases of type 1 are not in first degree relatives of those who already have been diagnosed, rather, they're sporadic. So scientists have been screening children from birth to identify those at highest genetic risk of developing type one, and they're following them for the development of diabetes. At the same time, they are measuring environmental exposures so that they can ultimately make connections between these exposures and the children in the study who end end up developing type 1. If we can come up with broad methods to predict type 1 diabetes in children it will help decrease illness and medical cost at the time of onset as well as help test new therapies to prevent the disease, or at the very least preserve patients' beta cells. Those are the cells that make insulin in the pancreas. Now how can we improve access to diabetes care around the world? At this symposium researchers also discussed efforts to make insulin and diabetes related medical supplies more accessible and affordable to people in low income countires. There a diagnosis can be financially devastating. In parts of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, insulin and other supplies can eat up as much as 30 to 40% of a family's annual income. Even in the United States, families may end up financially bankrupt due to diabetes-related medical bills. And the inability to afford treatment is a common cause for ER visits for diabetic keto-acidosis, which is a potentially life- threatening complication. Global efforts are underway to improve the availability and affordability of high quality drugs for noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes for people in low income countries. This is Anna Baker with breaking news from the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago. To view this press release online, please visit the For Media section of our website, diabetes.org. And for the latest video coverage of the news in research coming out of the meeting, stay tuned to diabetes.org/breakingnews. [MUSIC]