Hi Tahlia

Thank you for your question.

At present there is no chemical or drug available to make the pancreas start working again for people with type 1 diabetes as the cells that produce insulin have been attacked by the immune system and no longer work and cannot be fixed.  However, for people with type 2 diabetes there are medications to stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin (these people still have some of their own insulin being produced, whereas people with type 1 diabetes have no insulin produced by the pancreas).

At present there is a trial of nasal insulin being conducted for people at high risk of getting type 1 diabetes (they have a first degree relative with type 1 diabetes already).  This is to try and prevent these people getting type 1 diabetes and is looking promising.