CINCINNATI — For families facing a potential Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, doctors now have something they’ve never had before: time.
An FDA-approved treatment called Tzield is designed to delay the progression of Type 1 diabetes before it fully develops, giving patients and families more time to prepare physically, emotionally and logistically for life with the disease.
For 17-year-old Carli Maddock, that time has made all the difference.
“It was really overwhelming,” Maddock said. “I never expected any of this, and it felt like everything just kept adding on.”
By her mid-teens, Maddock had been diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 300,000 children and teens in the U.S. live with Type 1 diabetes, and rates among young people continue to rise.
Maddock had seen the toll diabetes can take. Her grandmother lives with the condition, managing insulin injections and pumps.
“Knowing I was lucky enough to be able to prolong my experience, and hopefully help others prolong theirs, it was really empowering,” Maddock said.
Maddock is a patient at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and became the first in the region to receive Tzield, a therapy approved for patients ages 8 and older who have Stage 2 Type 1 diabetes. The treatment delays progression to Stage 3, when patients typically require insulin.
Dr. Nicole Sheanon, a pediatric endocrinologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, said the therapy works by targeting immune cells that attack the insulin-producing cells in the body.
“It sort of tires them out so they can’t attack anymore,” Sheanon said. Tzield is administered through daily IV infusions over a 14-day period. While it does not cure Type 1 diabetes, doctors say it can significantly delay its onset.
“Instead of getting diabetes in three months and needing to be admitted and started on insulin, you might have a year, two years, maybe even two and a half years,” Sheanon said. “It gives families time to come to terms with it and get more education.”
That time, she added, also allows families to prepare for school, insurance coverage and the emotional impact of a chronic diagnosis.
For Maddock’s parents, that time has been invaluable. “It’s been really hard since she was sick for a long time,” said her mother, Lisa Ross. “But now she feels better. It’s amazing to see her have life again, to have a spark in her eye, and talk about the future again.”
Nearly a year after completing her infusions, doctors report Maddock has shown no progression of her diabetes. She’s spending her time crocheting, participating in theater, hanging out with friends, and using her voice to raise awareness.
“I hope it helps people who don’t know much about this research to want to look into it more or even go into the field,” Maddock said.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has also launched a prevention and screening clinic that includes endocrinologists, certified diabetes educators and social workers. The clinic supports families through insurance approval, treatment expectations and ongoing follow-up.