New Treatment for Diabetes
Diabetes complications are the second largest
cause of deaths in the United States. About two million people in
the United States have Type 1 diabetes that is treated by insulin.
Many others have Type 2 diabetes and about five percent are not
aware they have diabetes. They won’t be diagnosed until they decide
they are abnormally tired, urinating too much, and hungry and
thirsty all the time. These are the most common signs of diabetes.
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Researchers are experimenting and
looking for a cure for Type 1 diabetes. A team of
scientists and diabetes experts recently released a study
showing that by using a combination of two drugs, they were
able to reverse Type 1 diabetes at the beginning of the
disease. These two drugs were successful in reversing
diabetes in most of the mice tested. This success allows
them to predict they will be using humans in clinical trials
soon.
Two separate clinical trials have
proved that a combination of drugs called anti-CD3 and the
reversal was preserved for over a year. Researchers are
excited about the possibility of a cure for diabetes,
especially those who deal with early onset diabetes, or
Juvenile diabetes. These clinical trials still need
approval and would include trials with individuals who have
recently diagnosed with diabetes or those who are considered
pre-diabetic. |
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Since complications from high glucose
levels get worse with time, the hope is that this combination of
drugs will reverse the diabetes before it has time to damage
major organs.
They use the drug combination to teach the
immune system to tolerate rather than attack the insulin producing
cells in the pancreas. The combination seems to calm the immune
system and lessens the attack on the cells. Regulatory cells are
also injected to specifically protect these beta cells. The drugs
were used as a vaccine with few side effects and it was proved the
disease didn’t reoccur during the life span of the mice tested.
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Good news for everyone if this
proves to be the breakthrough scientists and doctors
have been looking for. Especially with children who are
diagnosed, if their diabetes could be reversed, they
could have normal lives! Combining this vaccine with
plenty of exercise, enough sleep, and a healthy diet
could mean the end of this terrible disease.
Complications from Type 1 diabetes include kidney
disease, blindness, and even amputations.
If this drug duo is confirmed to be
a usable vaccine against diabetes, it will be the first
time that scientists were able to reverse diabetes and
keep healthy levels of blood sugars in the animals
tested. This drug combination may restore
insulin-producing cells without the need for a pancreas
transplant and damage from anti-rejection drugs.
We need to encourage our researchers and
scientists to continue working on the cure for this
terrible disease. |
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When trials are started on humans, the combination of
the anti-CD3 and nasal proinsulin may create the drug that they
have been looking for. It would be a wonderful, modern cure for
people around the world.
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