Weekly basal clinical trial, Seattle area

Weekly Basal Insulin to Treat Type 1 Diabetes | Rainier Clinical Research Center (rainier-research.com)

I have no insider info about this but wanted to throw it out there for those Type 1s in western WA who might be interested. This comes with decent pay and benefits for the 33 week trial but they want numerous in person visits to the clinic.

I am going to pass on this because I am pretty happy with my current insulin regimen. Weekly basal sounds pretty awesome (if it works) for people who are OK with that type of approach.

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This does not make sense to me.

The site says this:

Participants will be assigned to one of two groups: Half of all the participants will be on the investigational once weekly insulin

And the title page and link says:

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Title:
Weekly Basal Insulin – Allowing More Flexibility With Treating Type 1 Diabetes.

Link:
h.ttps://rainier-research.com/studies/weekly-basal-insulin-allowing-more-flexibility-with-treating-type-1-diabetes/

+++++++++++++++++

That makes no sense. A once-per-week basal is the OPPOSITE of flexibility!

You are preventing any possibility of flexibility.

Want to have your period? Oh sorry, you gotta wait for the week to be over. Want to eat more? Or exercise more? Sorry, wait until next Monday.

EDIT:
I guess the “flexibility” they are speaking of is that they are adding a different option to try. :man_shrugging:

I just didn’t read it that way at first! I see a flat basal that you are stuck with for the whole week and just intuitively think of that as inflexible.

Sorry about that!

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The concept does not work for me either. But there must be people out there clamoring for a set it and forget it basal. Would the drug companies go through all this development work unless they knew there is a market for it?

Maybe there’s some sort of tethered basal approach that will come out…get enough basal once weekly so you always have a reserve in the tank (and don’t have to worry about DKA as much) and adjust your daily basal as usual? I imagine there are people out there who would benefit from something like that.

This notice was the first I ever heard of a weekly basal but I will punt to YDMV on this one and look at it as one more option for those who can benefit from more options. I am impressed by all the side benefits of participating in the trial…$2100, free G6, medical exams, free insulin for 9 months etc.

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Yes, certainly some useful stuff there…

  • Untethered - inject part of your basal for when you need to unhook, like for swimming.

  • Or if you are in a hostile environment where your pump might fail.

  • Or if your pump reservoir does not last because of high insulin doses, some of the basal part could be handled with it.

Yeah, I can see applications for it.

I just got caught up on the word “flexibility” when I first read it. :grinning:

Sometimes they use marketing buzzwords.

I think this might have been a better way to state it:

  • Weekly Basal Insulin – Allowing More Alternatives With Treating Type 1 Diabetes.

or

  • Weekly Basal Insulin – Allowing More Options With Treating Type 1 Diabetes.
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Your comments are all based on the belief that with adjustability comes flexibility. That is not always the case… and I personally don’t believe it will be the way of the future. Current insulins require that adjustability, and that is their downfall… that is what makes it a pain and a challenge as a t1… true “flexibility” and liberation will be when one day taking supplemental insulin will be as simple as taking a multi vitamin in the morning… or in the case of this study, perhaps once a week——- to me that’s what progress really will look like— not more adjustability , but less need for it

A flexible insulin regimen to me doesn’t necessarily mean one that accommodates me stressing and messing with it 24 hours per day 365 days per year… it means a total lack of any of that bs being a necessity

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I didn’t read it the way you did. But I agreee with you, a flat basal for the entire week sounds horrible to me. Tresiba was bad enough with its lack of adjustability! I have different rates on my pump throughout the day/night and use temporary rates daily during half the month. However, people who rarely or never have to adjust their basal insulin may find it beneficial.

Or a pump and CGM combination that adjusts automatically every minute! That’s what I’m looking forward to. :slight_smile: I know, it’s as horrifying to you as a once-weekly basal is to me. :wink:

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I think/hope that someday that may seem as obsolete as hunting a wooly mammoth with a spear

I hope that one day there is true flexibility – as in my kid can act as flexibly as those without T1D, without having to think very much about it. That said, i can see something like this being huge for folks like my dad; cognitively he is not up to taking yet another regimen every day. If he needed insulin, it would be awesome if he could just take one shot a week, rather than one a day. That said, he’s a T2.

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I think there is a huge application for T2’s. It was curious to me that the web page title and link specified T1’s.

Also, T2’s outnumber T1’s, so any company trying to make money would certainly want to market toward the T2’s.

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Sure, I hope it’s obsolete one day as well! But I don’t think it’s likely unless there’s a cure. It’s pretty clear from these forums that what works wonders for one person is terrible for the next, so hopefully there will always be options (I think there will be).

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