St Vincent’s Campus launches ground-breaking trial targeting heart disease in type 1 diabetes You are here:HomeNewsroomNews St Vincent’s Campus launches ground-breaking trial targeting heart disease in type 1 diabetes 17 Jul 2024 Clinicians from St Vincent’s Hospital have launched a novel clinical trial, which will be conducted at the Garvan Institute: the RESET1 study, which will investigate whether semaglutide, a commonly used drug for type 2 diabetes, could reduce the risk of heart disease in people with type 1 diabetes. The RESET 1 study which has commenced recruiting trial participants, is being jointly led by Professor Jerry Greenfield, Director of Diabetes and Endocrinology at St Vincent’s and Head of the Clinical Diabetes and Metabolism Lab at Garvan; and Dr Jennifer Snaith, Endocrinologist at St Vincent’s and Research Fellow at Garvan. Endocrinologist, Dr Ruth Frampton, is undertaking the study as her PhD project. Affecting approximately 8.4 million people globally, type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition where the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Those with type 1 diabetes are at a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in this group, and are up to 10 times more likely to have a heart attack than the general population. Professor Jerry Greenfield says “This trial could transform the therapeutic landscape for type 1 diabetes management by offering a new way to mitigate the heightened risk of heart disease found in these patients.” The RESET1 study will be the first to explore whether the cardiovascular benefits of semaglutide, which improves blood sugar levels and reduces cardiovascular risks in type 2 diabetes, extend to those with type 1 diabetes. The trial will involve 60 participants from the Sydney area, who will be given semaglutide or placebo once a week for 26 weeks. The study will include blood and urine tests, body composition and liver scans. “Heart disease is the leading cause of premature death in type 1 diabetes. There is an urgent need to identify treatments that address this and other issues including weight, blood sugar control, and unhealthy body composition,” says Dr Snaith. The trial is being supported by JDRF, Novo Nordisk and a Medical Research Futures Fund 2023 Targeted Translation Research Accelerator – Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mechanisms grant. L-R: Dr Jennifer Snaith, Prof Jerry Greenfield and Dr Ruth Frampton