Hey readers! This week's headline isn't a new insulin or a shinier sensor. It's a drug most people associate with type 2 diabetes and weight loss quietly showing up in type 1 data, and the numbers are worth a careful look. Let's dig in.
🔬 Tirzepatide as an add-on for T1D
Tirzepatide Shows Promise for Weight Loss and Reduced Insulin Needs in Type 1 Diabetes: Study reports on a retrospective matched cohort study in which adjunctive tirzepatide in overweight or obese adults with T1D was linked to meaningful drops in body weight and daily insulin.
The specifics are striking. Among 23 adults on tirzepatide propensity-matched to 23 controls, the treatment group saw body weight change of −10.01% ± 4.74% versus +0.69% ± 3.77% in controls, and total daily insulin dose fall by −21.82 ± 16.30 U/day versus a rise of +5.62 ± 11.63 U/day. Mean follow-up was 28 weeks for the tirzepatide group and 31 weeks for controls.
Why this matters: weight gain and rising insulin needs are a genuine, under-discussed burden for many living with T1D, and this is early signal that a GLP-1/GIP agent might help on both fronts at once. Exploratory findings also showed reductions in a glucose management indicator, glucose standard deviation, and daily carbohydrate intake, though many other CGM, blood pressure, lipid, hepatic, and renal measures did not differ.
"In adults with T1D and overweight or obesity, adjunctive tirzepatide treatment was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in percentage body weight and insulin requirements."
A sober caveat from the authors themselves is worth keeping front of mind:
"Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm efficacy, establish its safety profile, and evaluate its broader cardiometabolic benefits."
This was retrospective, small, and built from electronic records collected between 2020 and 2025. It's a reason to have a conversation with your care team, not a reason to expect an off-the-shelf prescription tomorrow.
🧬 Changing the course of T1D
Two items point at the bigger goal of altering the disease itself rather than only managing it.
First disease-modifying therapy to delay Type 1 diabetes recommended in NHS covers NICE final draft guidance recommending teplizumab as the UK's first immunotherapy to delay T1D onset for NHS use, able to delay Stage 3 onset in people aged eight and over and Stage 2 in adults.
"For more than 100 years, insulin has been the only treatment for type 1 diabetes… NICE's recommendation of teplizumab for NHS use changes that."
Novel immunotherapy deemed safe for adults with early-stage type 1 diabetes details phase 1 TOPPLE data on Novo Nordisk's plasmid-based NNCO361-0041, found safe and well tolerated across 47 adults aged 18 to 45, with the 12.5 mg dose showing higher mean C-peptide AUC at 24 weeks and 1 year versus placebo. – Healio
📟 Devices and access
Health Canada authorises Dexcom G7 15 Day CGM system for adults 18+, offering 15.5 days of wear, an 8% MARD, and direct Apple Watch connectivity, though it wasn't yet available for purchase at publication.
MiniMed Expands European Diabetes Portfolio With Commercial Launch of Instinct Sensors pairs Abbott Instinct 15-day sensors with the 780G, which the article describes as delivering 91% overnight time-in-range.
Medtrum to bring 300U tubeless insulin patch pump to Germany advances toward launch, offering 50% greater reservoir capacity than common 200U patch pumps for those with higher insulin needs.
Abbott to launch Libre Duo dual sensor internationally in the fall adds continuous ketone monitoring alongside glucose to flag rising DKA risk.
OTC continuous glucose monitor for kids: FDA clears first prescription-free option could cut delays for families starting CGM.
🌍 Equity and the science underneath
Primary care initiation of continuous glucose monitoring is effective found that among 8,502 insulin-treated adults, CGM started in primary care cut HbA1c by 0.66 points at 12 months versus 0.17 in non-initiators, with fewer hospitalizations. Meanwhile, FIND expands ACCEDE launched a US$3.2 million effort to widen CGM access in low- and middle-income countries.
And for the curious: A Hidden Protein-Folding Failure May Help Drive Diabetes traces how the cochaperone p58IPK helps beta cells fold proinsulin correctly, a target most current medications don't touch.
"Like a single tennis player trying to play a doubles match, we found that BiP cannot just go it alone in maintaining the proper folding of proinsulin."
Take care of yourselves, and bring the tirzepatide data to your next appointment if weight and insulin creep have been on your mind.