|
Sweet Hope for Type 1 Diabetics Friday, April 18, 2008 - Einat Rotman Home >> News >> Medicine   
|
|
|
Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston have found a three-drug therapy, which is successful in eliminating insulin-resistance and autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in mice suffering from type 1 diabetes. The three-drug regimen, consisting of drugs with both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown to enable restoration of normal blood sugar functions in the test mice. The research revealed for the first time the role of inflammation in resistance to insulin in type 1 diabetes, and could open up new options for treatment of the disease.
|
||||||
|
Previous attempts to treat type 1 diabetics were primarily focused on restoring their immune tolerance. However, as inflammation in muscle and fat is known to prevent insulin from triggering the transfer of glucose from the blood into insulin-sensitive tissues in type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes, BIDMC's investigators decided to examine the role of inflammation in type 1 diabetes. The roles of autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing cells and inflammation-induced insulin resistance in type 1 diabetes were tested by administration of a “cocktail” of three separate agents, aimed at both increasing tolerance and decreasing inflammation, in a NOD (Non-Obese Diabetes) mouse model of type 1 diabetes. These newly diagnosed diabetic mice received the triple therapy for two to four weeks and then maintained normal levels of blood sugar, while the control group of diabetic mice, which received only insulin, did not survive the month-long period. Another drug, lacking the anti-inflammatory agent, successfully reduced the autoimmune destruction of beta cells, but did not reverse the disease. Restoration of sensitivity to insulin and the consequent maintenance of normal blood glucose levels were therefore linked to the blocking of inflammatory processes.
While the desired effects of the new triple combination therapy have been demonstrated only in animals, the researchers are currently planning to conduct human trials. Suggesting a previously unrecognized role for inflammation in type 1 diabetes, their findings could have major clinical significance in providing a new pathway for the initial treatment of new-onset diabetics. Other researches of type 1 diabetes previously covered by TFOT include a project for the engineering of a nanostructure that releases insulin into the blood in response to high blood-sugar levels, development of stem cell therapies, and a non-invasive device for monitoring blood glucose levels. Further information regarding the three-drug diabetes therapy is available in the news page of the BIDMC website. (as well as here). |
||||||
|
| Related Pictures |
|
HeartLander - Stays Right on Your Heart |
|
World's Strongest MRI |
| Related Articles |
|
Shedding Light on Blindness |
|
Mind Controlled Bionic Limbs |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
You are not aware that beta cells repopulate the pancreas after inflamation is stopped? Who's payroll are you on? |
|||
|
|||
|
The researchers treated mice with newly established type 1 diabetes, in which about three quarters of the beta cells have been destroyed. A month after treatment stopped, most of them boasted normal blood sugar without added insulin. Lab analysis revealed that only 25 percent of the islet cell mass remained in the recovered mice, indicating that normal blood sugar levels were restored without regeneration of the islet beta cells. This study showed for the first time insulin resistance can be changed to insulin sensitivity in type 1 diabetes. The remnant beta cell mass then becomes sufficient to maintain normal blood levels. |
