Boy, 10, among first in the world to receive life-changing Type 1 diabetes drug at AdventHealth

Anderson Ata is a typical 10-year-old who likes playing basketball and hanging out with his friends, but on New Year’s Eve he got really sick.

“I took a couple of covers from my cabinet and put them on me, waited about an hour and I was still shaking and I didn’t know what was happening,” Anderson Ata explained to FOX 35 News Anchor Amy Kaufeldt.

Doctors diagnosed Anderson with early stages of Type 1 diabetes. The family was referred to Dr. Konda Reddy to administer the life-changing monoclonal antibody treatment. Anderson became the seventh patient in the world, and the first in Orlando, to receive the new FDA-approved drug called Tzield.

To determine eligibility for the treatment, a simple blood test is performed. TZIELD, is the first drug that can delay the progression of Type 1 diabetes by up to three years in adults and up to eight years in children.

AdventHealth was a part of a large global research study which led to TZIELD gaining FDA-approval. When TZIELD became available on the market at the beginning of the year, AdventHealth was one of a handful of hospital systems administering the groundbreaking treatment.

Learn more about how the treatment is given and how Anderson is doing post treatment, here.