Last Thursday was a special day for Team Shelby and our family. It was Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation day at SBC Park. The Giants lost to the San Diego Padres that day. But Liz and the kids had great seats 27 rows up from first base thanks to our good friend Leslie and her family. Mark and I sat up in the upper deck in seats he’d purchased earlier in the year; we like to go to at least one game a year together, just the guys, and this one turned out to be on JDRF day. The seats we had were the same ones our family sat in for our first family game at the Giants in 2003.
JDRF day with the Giants is really just an awareness-raising event. There is a booth down on the community row next to the KNBR radio booth. There was a pre-game ceremony out at home plate where some kids with diabetes thanked the Giants and pitcher Brett Tomko for their efforts in raising awareness of the disease. It also was a chance for us to wear our Team Shelby shirts and answer people’s questions about what Team Shelby is, spreading the word one person at a time.
It was a great day all around, except for the final score. But like a long baseball season where your team is kinda in the playoff hunt and kinda not, the work of educating people about diabetes, what it means and what we can do to fight it is a day-by-day process.
Each person we tell about Team Shelby is one more person who didn’t know before. Each person we hand a JDRF pamphlet to is one more person who may just take a minute to read it and learn something really important.
There are JDRF chapters and events all over the country. If there’s one near you, stop by and let the folks there know you support the work they are doing for a little girl you know in Northern California.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Discovery: Gene mutation link to Type I Diabetes
Medical College of Georgia researchers have discovered a gene mutation that controls a major immune system response that leads to autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes. This research was funded in part by the JDRF.
Here's a short piece of the article. Click the link above for the full article from the college's Web site.
A natural mutation of a gene that helps regulate the reactivity of the immune system is a major contributor to type 1diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers have found.
The newly discovered gene, SUMO-4, controls the activity of NFkB, a molecule that in turn controls the activity of cytokines, proteins that regulate the intensity and duration of the immune response, according to research that will be published in the August print issue of Nature Genetics and online July 11.
By examining the transmission of genes from parents to children in nearly 1,000 diabetic families from around the world, the researchers found that a certain natural mutation of that SUMO-4 gene increases the risk of type 1 diabetes.
"This helps us understand how type 1 diabetes works, and we can use this improved understanding to better predict who will get the disease and design new intervention strategies for those who do," said Dr. Jin-Xiong She, director of the MCG Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine and a co-senior author on the study.
"The mutation we have found is going to increase the responsive capacity of the immune system to environmental triggers or stimulators; it makes it more reactive," said Dr. Cong-Yi Wang, molecular geneticist and co-senior author.
Dr. Wang and his research team found that when that mutation encounters an environmental trigger, such as a bacterial or viral infection, it throws off the usual well-balanced activity of the immune system, initiating an autoimmune response that eventually attacks the patient’s own tissue.
They already are exploring the gene’s potential role in other autoimmune diseases as well such as lupus, thyroid disease, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Here's a short piece of the article. Click the link above for the full article from the college's Web site.
A natural mutation of a gene that helps regulate the reactivity of the immune system is a major contributor to type 1diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers have found.
The newly discovered gene, SUMO-4, controls the activity of NFkB, a molecule that in turn controls the activity of cytokines, proteins that regulate the intensity and duration of the immune response, according to research that will be published in the August print issue of Nature Genetics and online July 11.
By examining the transmission of genes from parents to children in nearly 1,000 diabetic families from around the world, the researchers found that a certain natural mutation of that SUMO-4 gene increases the risk of type 1 diabetes.
"This helps us understand how type 1 diabetes works, and we can use this improved understanding to better predict who will get the disease and design new intervention strategies for those who do," said Dr. Jin-Xiong She, director of the MCG Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine and a co-senior author on the study.
"The mutation we have found is going to increase the responsive capacity of the immune system to environmental triggers or stimulators; it makes it more reactive," said Dr. Cong-Yi Wang, molecular geneticist and co-senior author.
Dr. Wang and his research team found that when that mutation encounters an environmental trigger, such as a bacterial or viral infection, it throws off the usual well-balanced activity of the immune system, initiating an autoimmune response that eventually attacks the patient’s own tissue.
They already are exploring the gene’s potential role in other autoimmune diseases as well such as lupus, thyroid disease, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
A tribute to our walk team
| We are more thankful than we can ever say to everyone on Team Shelby. Anyone who has given a dime, turned out for a walk or gathered donations from 10,000 people are all members of the team. We couldn't do what we do without all of you. We do have a particular fondness for those who turn out in the early morning hours at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek for the 5k-walk that culminates the annual Team Shelby/Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fundraising effort. In 2003, we had a great group, all decked out in royal blue team shirts and, for the first time, caps. We look forward to another great trip around the park on Oct. 3, 2004. Any team members who can make it are more than welcome. After the walk we invite any and all who care to join us over to our house for a post-walk barbecue, which is lots of fun. It's great to see people from various aspects of our lives share in a meal and get to know each other when other their only common bond is Shelby and a genuine concern for her well-being and health. We thank everyone who has ever walked with our team and those too distant to make who said a special prayer for us on that day. |  The Team 2003 Originally uploaded by teamshelby. |
Monday, July 12, 2004
Who we are and why we care
Team Shelby was born in 2002 shortly after our 2-year-old daughter Shelby was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. We had survived our 'diabetes boot camp' at the hospital and were determined to find some way to not just live with the disease but fight back.
We've teamed up with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, an international nonprofit organization which is the largest non-governmental supporter of cutting-edge research to cure this chronic disease. The JDRF was founded by parents of children with diabetes who refused to wait for capricious government funding of the needed advancements toward solving the riddle of diabetes. The JDRF is a true leader in this field of research with partnerships with the top universities and research centers in the world pursuing answers to both the causes and cures of diabetes.
We believe that finding a cure for our daughter is worth our time and effort. We were given this challenge as a family and we fight it as a family. It has been a tremendous blessing to discover that so many of our family and friends agreed with us. The JDRF holds annual Walk to Cure Diabetes events in cities across the nation. The number of people who have donated money to Team Shelby (our walk team that donates 100% of the proceeds tothe JDRF) has been tremendous. That's a main reason we have this website -- to keep in touch with our team and share the latest about our journey toward a cure.
We are gearing up new fund-raising approaches, including our first-ever corporate sponsorship opportunities, as we plan for the October Walk to Cure Diabetes. Please explore our site: We pack it full of both inspirational stories and the latest in the research battle against Type I Diabetes. The money is working. Scientists are discovering, a piece at a time, what exactly causes this disease and how to best treat and, perhaps one day, prevent and cure it.
We've teamed up with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, an international nonprofit organization which is the largest non-governmental supporter of cutting-edge research to cure this chronic disease. The JDRF was founded by parents of children with diabetes who refused to wait for capricious government funding of the needed advancements toward solving the riddle of diabetes. The JDRF is a true leader in this field of research with partnerships with the top universities and research centers in the world pursuing answers to both the causes and cures of diabetes.
We believe that finding a cure for our daughter is worth our time and effort. We were given this challenge as a family and we fight it as a family. It has been a tremendous blessing to discover that so many of our family and friends agreed with us. The JDRF holds annual Walk to Cure Diabetes events in cities across the nation. The number of people who have donated money to Team Shelby (our walk team that donates 100% of the proceeds tothe JDRF) has been tremendous. That's a main reason we have this website -- to keep in touch with our team and share the latest about our journey toward a cure.
We are gearing up new fund-raising approaches, including our first-ever corporate sponsorship opportunities, as we plan for the October Walk to Cure Diabetes. Please explore our site: We pack it full of both inspirational stories and the latest in the research battle against Type I Diabetes. The money is working. Scientists are discovering, a piece at a time, what exactly causes this disease and how to best treat and, perhaps one day, prevent and cure it.
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