[Faculty of Health and Nutrition] Participating in a dessert-making event hosted by a type 1 diabetes patient association

Associate Professor Shoko Komatsu from Faculty of Health and Nutrition and five volunteer third-year students participated in a dessert-making event hosted by a Type 1 Diabetes Patient Association on October 26th.

The menu was "Chocolate Banana Custard Cream Crepes," which were handmade from the batter and custard cream. After Associate Professor Komatsu gave a demonstration, the participants worked together in groups to enjoy making crepes.

The students were responsible for preparing and cleaning up the ingredients and equipment, and also provided demonstrations and supported the participants' work, while interacting with children living with type 1 diabetes and their families.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin, a hormone that lowers blood glucose levels, are destroyed. As Dr. Shimbumi Sakaguchi of Osaka University Professor Emeritus, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this disease, explained at the press conference, future research on regulatory T cells is expected to help control the onset of the disease and provide treatment.

Currently, in order to replace insulin secreted by the body in significantly reduced amounts, insulin preparations are injected using an insulin pump or self-injected using a pen syringe. It is also important for treatment to know the amount of carbohydrate intake that raises blood sugar levels in order to determine the amount of insulin preparation to administer.

(Source: Faculty of Health and Nutrition)