Autoimmune Life Blog

Frequent urination, dry mouth and unexplained weight loss are common symptoms of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Also called juvenile diabetes, T1D affects nearly one million Americans and usually occurs in children or young adults.

A microbiome is a collection of microorganisms that create a “mini-ecosystem” – and there are 100 trillion bacteria inside your intestinal tract! Many gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria live in the gut and help with digestion.

With the help of generous volunteers, BRI scientists have been able to move autoimmune and immune-mediated disease research forward.

Whether kicking off a new school year or returning to school after a new diagnosis, one of the best ways to ensure your child is safe and supported at school is to help the people around them understand Type 1 diabetes.

My son Peter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just before his third birthday. At the time, he was in the stretch run of potty training. Incentivised with M&M’s, Peter was using the toilet more and more frequently. He was also insatiably thirsty.

For Bernard Khor, MD, PhD, scientific research has a distinct connection with another one of his passions: food. “Part of the reason I like food is that I think chefs have a lot in common with scientists,” he says.

We started this blog to bring more awareness and understanding of autoimmune disease, which is so common, yet often so misunderstood. According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, only 13 percent of Americans can name one autoimmune disease!

In the 1950s, when Jack Wimpress, a talented Boeing aerodynamics engineer, and his late wife, Doris, a dedicated nurse, began their family, they were a statistical anomaly. “Three out of four of our children developed type 1 diabetes,” says Jack. “Everyone told us that this wasn’t possible.”

For most people, the onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) seems to occur suddenly, often resulting in a trip to the emergency room with life-threatening complications.

Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) and Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI) are pioneering the use of gene editing techniques in efforts to control type 1 diabetes (T1D).