Breakthrough Vaccine For Type 1 Diabetes Will Start Human Trials In 2018
Scientists will start to test a new prototype vaccine for preventing type 1 diabetes in 2018. The vaccine is the result of a long 25 years of hard work done by scientists. Though the vaccine will not completely cure nor will get rid of the type 1 diabetes, it will certainly improve the immune system to fight the virus. The type 1 diabetes is suffered by 5% of the population, while the type 2 diabetes is more prevalent among all. What is type 1 diabetes? Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system, which fights infection and illness, attacks its own cells in the pancreas. This attack reduces the insulin levels in the body. Therefore, the treatment is given in the form of injection or pumps to restore insulin levels in the body to avoid risk to life. A research team from the University of Tampere, Finland have been able to link the virus called “Coxsackievirus B1”, which triggers an autoimmune reaction whereby destroying the cells in the pancreas. This will reduce the ability of the pancreas to generate insulin to absorb glucose from the blood. How it all starts Though the genesis of the infection is complex, one example suggested by the virologist, Heikki Hyöty from the University of Tampere seems apt. He said that the infection is caused by the enterovirus, similar to the one found in Polio. In a study in 2014, the researchers said that "One can estimate from the generated data that less than 5 percent of CVB1-infected children go on to develop type 1 diabetes". Enteroviruses are more prevalent among newborns and children, having 44 known enteroviruses infections found by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the US in 2007. Vaccine development Each year, many children are inflicted with the type 1 diabetes and the numbers are growing steadily. Researc Continue reading >>
Novel Tissue-engineered Islet Transplant Achieves Insulin Independence In Type 1 Diabetes
Scientists from the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have produced the first clinical results demonstrating that pancreatic islet cells transplanted within a tissue-engineered platform can successfully engraft and achieve insulin independence in type 1 diabetes. The findings, published in the May 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, are part of an ongoing clinical study to test this novel strategy as an important step toward offering this life-changing cell replacement therapy to millions living with the disease. Islet transplantation has demonstrated the ability to restore natural insulin production and eliminate severe hypoglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes. The insulin-producing cells have traditionally been implanted within the liver, but this transplant site poses some limitations for emerging applications, leading researchers to investigate other options. DRI scientists have focused on the omentum, an apron-like tissue covering abdominal organs, which is easily accessed with minimally invasive surgery and has the same blood supply and physiological drainage characteristics as the pancreas. "The objective of testing this novel tissue-engineered platform is to initially determine that insulin-producing cells can function in this new site, and subsequently introduce additional technologies towards our ultimate goal to replace the pancreatic endocrine function lost in type 1 diabetes without the need for anti-rejection drugs, what we call the DRI BioHub," explains Camillo Ricordi, M.D., director of the DRI and the Stacy Joy Goodman Professor of Surgery, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Miami Miller School. Dr. Continue reading >>
Diabetes Research: Advancing Toward A Cure
George L. King, M.D. Research Director and Head of the Section on Vascular Cell Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School This is an incredibly exciting time in diabetes research. In the past, we only have had one promising approach to finding a cure for patients with type 1 diabetes. Now we have several possibilities related to a cure, and even prevention, both for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Previously, research toward a cure was focused on transplantation of the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the islet cells or parts of the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system turns on itself and destroys these islet cells. As a result, the body can’t produce the insulin required to escort glucose from the food we eat to where it is needed—into the cells of the body’s muscles and other organs. We are now focusing on ways to understand this immune attack to find safe ways to block it. There are several ongoing studies using our knowledge of immunology to try to intervene and prevent type 1 diabetes. Another important effort is directed to regenerating islet cells—to produce insulin again—either through the use of stem cells, embryonic or adult, or other ways of engineering these cells. We are now hopeful that a large number of people with type 1 diabetes still have surviving islet cells left to regrow. This optimism has been raised by the findings that many type 1 diabetes patients may still have residual islets that have retained some function to make insulin. A recent Joslin study of people who have lived more than 50 years with type 1 diabetes indicated that even some of these patients can still make insulin. Much attention is also aimed at the causes of type 2 diabetes. The main theory involves inflamm Continue reading >>
New Treatment On The Horizon For Type 1 Diabetes Sufferers
Patients suffering from type 1 diabetes may soon have access to improved approaches to treat the disease, courtesy of new research out of Sydney's Westmead Institute for Medical Research. The team of researchers, led by Professor Jenny Gunton, discovered that pancreatic islets transplants delivered into the quadriceps muscle work just as successfully as the current clinical practice of transplanting islets into a patient's liver via the portal vein. Lead researcher Ms Rebecca Stokes said that transplants into the liver can present certain risks for the patient, so their research investigated safer and more beneficial treatment options for transplant recipients. "Islets are cells in the pancreas that produce insulin," Ms Stokes explained. "Pancreatic islet transplantation is used as a cure for type 1 diabetes as it allows the recipient to produce and regulate insulin after their own islet cells have been destroyed by the disease. "Currently, islet transplants are infused into a patient's liver via the portal vein. This site is used for islet transplants due to its exposure to both nutrients and insulin in the body. "However, islet infusion into the liver also presents certain risks for the patient, including potential complications from bleeding, blood clots and portal hypertension. "This suggests that there may be better treatment options for patients receiving islet transplants. "We investigated alternative transplantation sites for human and mouse islets in recipient mice, comparing the portal vein with quadriceps muscle and kidney, liver and spleen capsules. "Colleagues in Professor Wayne Hawthorne's group also tested similar sites for pig islet transplants in their companion paper. "Professor Hawthorne's research examining xenotransplantation - the process of transp Continue reading >>
Device Could Help People With Type 1 Diabetes
HOUSTON - A medical breakthrough could be life-changing for people with Type 1 diabetes, a condition in which the pancreas makes little insulin, or none at all. Doctors are hailing the so-called "artificial pancreas" as a game changer for millions with the disease. For Jamie Kurtzig, 13, and her mother, Sara, checking Jamie's blood sugar levels during the day is routine. They've been doing it since she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at just 19 months old. But, at night, if her blood sugar drops, Jamie could easily have a seizure or even fall into a coma. "For 10 years, we just set alarms and get up, usually every two to three hours to do a check to make sure that she's in a safe range," Sara said. But this new device, which is placed just under Jamie's shoulder, is changing all that. Dubbed an artificial pancreas or closed-looped insulin delivery system, it checks glucose levels every five minutes and wirelessly alerts Jamie's pump, which then delivers the correct dose of insulin. "And so I can just go to bed and wake up,and be in auto mode and perfect blood sugar," Jamie said. Jamie is part of a trial that helped prompt the Food and Drug Administration to approve the device. It's being hailed as a historic step towards treating diabetes. But doctors warn this is not a cure. "This is a car analogy: that you are still driving, putting on the gas, putting on the brakes and making the turns, and it is not an autopilot car," Dr. Bruce Buckingham said. Jamie will have to manage her diabetes her entire life. But at least for now, she and her family can get a good night's sleep. For pediatric diabetics, 75 percent of all seizures occur at night. Researchers are hoping the artificial pancreas device will decrease those numbers dramatically. The system is not an option for m Continue reading >>
Possible Cures For Type-1 In The News (december)
Here are some "bits and pieces" updates for December. Update on Dr. Faustman's Phase-II Trial of BCG Dr. Faustman's lab has published their Fall 2017 newsletter, which you can read here: This newsletter includes more information on her research, especially from the 3rd International BCG conference, The BCG Working Group, and the 2nd edition of the BCG and Autoimmunity book she edited. There are three pieces of new news there: The phase-II trial was fully enrolled in Summer of 2017. This is important because we now know when the trial will end. Since this is a five year study, they should finish collecting data in Summer of 2022 and publish before Summer of 2023. They have given BCG to the three untreated patients from their phase-I trial, so they will have data from six people to report in the future. The lab is going to be recruiting for more studies in the future, so would like to hear from anyone who is interested in participating. No details on future trials were provided. Another piece of news is that Dr. Faustman is branching out, and trying to apply BCG treatment to Fibromyalgia. This research is being done in collaboration with EpicGenetics, and they hope to start the trial in early 2018. If anything applicable to the type-1 world comes up in this research, I'll report it. Since Fibromyalgia is not generally considered an autoimmune disease, I'm not sure how much "cross pollination" of results there will be. You can read more about it here: DILfrequency Trial Completed There is a lot of research ongoing on IL-2 which is part of the immune system. About 18 months ago, I summarized all this research here: with an update here: One of those clinical trials was called "DILfrequency" and that trial has finished, and the results published. The purpose of that trial was Continue reading >>
Giant Breakthrough In Type 1 Diabetes Research
Diabetes Ireland is delighted to hear of the Harvard success and congratulate Professor Melton and colleagues on figuring out the complex series of steps necessary to turn stem cells into beta cells. Hopefully, they can negotiate the regulations for mass production so that an abundant supply of beta cells is available an new and innovative methods will be developed to cure/treat Type 1 diabetes. Type I diabetes is an autoimmune condition whereby the body kills off its own beta (insulin producing) cells resulting in the need for daily insulin administration through the skin. Replacing beta cells in the first step towards a cure, but the replaced beta cells need to be protected from the body’s autoimmune response. This means protecting them in a coating or taking drugs to prevent the response (possible worse side effects than diabetes). While excited about this major step towards a cure, it may be many years before this is widely available. Other cure options on the horizon include technology cures which may be less invasive. So for people with Type 1 diabetes, there is hope of seeing a cure during your lifetime and therefore, ensure you stay healthy so that when available you can avail of it. Dr Anna Clarke, Health Promotion Manager, Diabetes Ireland Professor Melton’s research project explained Our research partners in the UK, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), have been heavily involved with this project. So what is it? A new method for converting stem cells to beta cells could speed encapsulated cell replacement product development and research to cure type 1 diabetes Insulin therapy has long been the only method of treating type 1 diabetes (T1D), but a major breakthrough in producing replacement beta cells is bringing new hope that more effective, alte Continue reading >>
Jdrf’s Top Advances On Type 1 Diabetes Cure & Treatment Research
“JDRF made exciting progress this year in our mission of accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications,” explains Emily Howell from JDRF. This video with Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D. features some of JDRF’s most promising and exciting advances in type 1 diabetes cure and treatment research and technology. (Kowalski also takes questions from people in the diabetes community!) Here are a few of the notable advances mentioned in the video with details provided by Emily Howell. ViaCyte: Implantable Insulin Capsule JDRF is paving a pathway to a cure by pursuing research priorities that can improve treatment of T1D in the short term and mature over time into curative therapies. For example, ViaCyte’s VC-01 device that features pancreatic precursor cells enclosed in a device to protect them from immune attack. In January 2016 ViaCyte reported that VC-01’s precursor cells showed signs of developing into insulin-producing beta cells in one participant of the phase 1 safety trial. According to ViaCyte, although the observations are preliminary, they suggest the VC-01 device is working as designed. Read more about past ViaCyte research updates. Early Screening for Type 1 Diabetes in Children JDRF is funding the Fr1da project, in which 3-and 4-year-olds in Bavaria, Germany, are screened for early-stage markers of T1D at well-child visits. Those who test positive for the markers can enroll in a study monitoring disease progression or a trial testing whether oral insulin can stop progression of T1D. This trial raises the exciting prospect of stopping T1D in its tracks and changing the future for those at risk of developing T1D. New T1D Classification System Leading diabetes organizations along with JDRF’s leadersh Continue reading >>
A Nonprofit Focused On The 1.25 Million Americans With Type 1 Diabetes Is Pushing A New Way To Fund Startups
An insulin pump. Alden Chadwick/Flickr JDRF, a nonprofit type 1 diabetes organization, has its own venture arm, T1D Fund, which manages $60 million. That includes $5 million added to the fund on Tuesday from the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The goal of the T1D Fund is to to spark investments into startups that are translating scientific advancements in type 1 diabetes into approved treatments. Companies that the fund has invested in see the support as "catalytic," especially since it carries the weight of JDRF's reputation. Type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects 1.25 million Americans, has seen its fair share of scientific advancements in the past few decades as researchers learn more about the disease, which affects the body's ability to monitor blood sugar levels. But at the same time, those advancements haven't necessarily reached patients. So, JDRF the largest funder of type 1 diabetes research, started a venture fund called the T1D Fund to spark investments into startups that might be able to take those scientific advancements and turn them in to approved treatments. "The research progress has been amazing, but what we're not seeing is the creation of a market," Sean Doherty, chairman of the T1D Fund told Business Insider. Venture capital, in particular, hasn't been very active in type 1 diabetes in recent years. "If we don't take charge of this, show leadership, nobody's going to." If we don't take charge of this, show leadership, nobody's going to." The T1D fund got its start in January 2017 with $32 million. Since then, it's invested in seven companies, and now manages $60 million. That includes $5 million added to the fund on Tuesday from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, an organization that supports health programs including type 1 diabetes. The idea of a nonpr Continue reading >>
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Type 1 Cured In Mice
Ralph DeFronzo and his researchers at UT Health at San Antonio announced that they have cured type 1 diabetes. Researchers think they have found a way to trick the body into curing type 1 diabetes that may also have a great impact possibly for type 2 diabetes. Even though it was only in mice, this could be very positive, even with years of testing still remaining. Doctor Ralph DeFronzo, chief of the diabetes research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, says that this way of doing a gene transfer can wake up cells in the pancreas to produce insulin. The immune system of a person with diabetes kills off useful “beta” cells, but the researchers say they have found a way to make other cells in the pancreas perform the necessary work. Their approach, announced earlier this month in the academic journal Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, not only would have implications for type 1, but also could help treat the far more common type 2 diabetes. The researchers have cured mice, which are genetically similar to people but different enough that new rounds of animal testing are needed before human trials can begin. This approach is sure to attract skeptics, in part because it is a significant departure from the many other attempts at curing diabetes, which typically involve transplanting new cells and/or suppressing the immune system’s attempts to kill off useful ones. By contrast, “we’re taking a cell that is already present in the body and programming it to secrete insulin, without changing it otherwise,” said DeFronzo. Diabetes is a disease characterized by a person’s inability to process carbohydrates, a condition that if untreated can lead to often-catastrophic health consequences. The core problem is insulin. Most people naturally secrete that su Continue reading >>
A Quest: Insulin-releasing Implant For Type-1 Diabetes
Scientists in California think they may have found a way to transplant insulin-producing cells into diabetic patients who lack those cells — and protect the little insulin-producers from immune rejection. Their system, one of several promising approaches under development, hasn't yet been tested in people. But if it works, it could make living with diabetes much less of a burden. For now, patients with Type-1 diabetes have to regularly test their blood sugar levels, and inject themselves with insulin when it's needed. Some researchers are developing machines to automate that process. But Crystal Nyitray, founder and CEO of the biotechnology startup Encellin, in San Francisco, didn't want to use a machine to treat diabetes. As a graduate student in bioengineering at the University of California, San Francisco a few years ago, Nyitray wanted to try something different: living cells. "Cells are the ultimate smart machine," she says. Clinical trials that transplant insulin-making pancreatic cells into people with diabetes have been underway for several years, with some success. But the recipient's immune system is hard on these transplanted cells, and most patients still need insulin injections eventually. Nyitray and colleagues designed a system that would encase live islet cells from the pancreas in a flexible membrane that could be implanted under the skin. Insulin and blood sugar could pass through the membrane, but cells from the recipient's immune system would be kept out, preventing immune rejection. "I think of it like if you're sitting in a house and you have the window open with a screen," Nyitray says. "So you can feel the breeze of the air outside, and smell everything, but the bugs and the flies aren't able to get through because you have the screen in place. Continue reading >>
Scientists Cure Type 1 Diabetes For A Year Without Side Effects
A potential cure for Type 1 diabetes looms on the horizon – and the novel approach would also allow Type 2 diabetics to stop insulin shots. The treatment totally cured diabetes in mice for an entire year without any side effects. The discovery, made at UT Health San Antonio, works by increasing the types of pancreatic cells that secrete insulin. “It worked perfectly,” said Dr. Bruno Doiron, assistant professor of medicine at UT Health. “We cured mice for one year without any side effects. That’s never been seen.” CHECK OUT: First Ever Quadriplegic Treated With Stem Cells Regains Motor Control in His Upper Body Insulin, which lowers blood sugar, is only made by beta cells. In Type 1 diabetes, beta cells are destroyed by the immune system and the person has no insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, beta cells fail and insulin decreases. At the same time in Type 2, the body doesn’t use insulin efficiently. The therapy is accomplished by a technique called gene transfer. A virus is used as a vector, or carrier, to introduce selected genes into the pancreas. These genes become incorporated and cause digestive enzymes and other cell types to make insulin. Unlike beta cells, which the body rejects in Type 1 diabetes, the other cell populations of the pancreas co-exist with the body’s immune defenses. Gene transfer using a viral vector has been approved nearly 50 times by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat various diseases. MORE: After Marrying On Her ‘Deathbed,’ This Bride Made a Miraculous Recovery After Quitting 1 Food “The pancreas has many other cell types besides beta cells, and our approach is to alter these cells so that they start to secrete insulin, but only in response to glucose [sugar],” said co-inventor Ralph DeFronzo. “This is basicall Continue reading >>
Researchers May Have Just ‘cured’ Type 1 Diabetes With Stem Cells
If successful, this new device utilizing stem cells will be the “functional cure” for type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a tough condition—over 42 million people in the world have to keep up with daily treatments and periodical injections in efforts to manage it. Even then, the brain, heart, and cardiovascular system are put at risk for the sake of type 1 diabetes treatments. For nearly two decades, researchers in the healthcare industry have tried finding a way for stem cells to replace traditional treatments. They have worked endlessly to figure out how to get stem cells to function inside the body. That could all be changing soon if one San Diego-based medical device company, Viacyte, succeeds in developing a device that uses stem cells to treat, and in a way cure, the condition for good. The PEC–Direct Implant Viacyte has developed a credit-card sized implant called PEC-Direct which uses pancreatic progenitor cells—derived from stem cells—that can mature inside the body into specialized islet cells that are destroyed by type 1 diabetes. The implant is placed just below the skin and releases insulin when blood sugar levels get too high. In August 2017, two people with type 1 diabetes were the first to have the PEC-Direct implanted in hopes that the stem cells will treat their condition. A third recipient is expected to receive the implant later this year. “If it works, we would call it a functional cure,” said Paul Laikind, President and CEO of Viacyte. How It Works Once implanted, the pores in the outer fabric of the device allow blood vessels to work their way in, nourishing the stem cells. After three months, the stem cells become islet cells which then monitor the body’s blood sugar, producing insulin when needed. “It’s not truly a cure bec Continue reading >>
This Could Be The Biggest Breakthrough Ever For The 1.25 Million People With Type 1 Diabetes
Often referred to as the "silent killer," diabetes in the U.S. is soaring. As of 2012, 29 million people had diabetes, up from 26 million in 2010. The majority were type 2 diabetics, which means their disease, which is caused by the body's inability to use insulin properly to convert sugar into energy, develops over time. Type 2 diabetics and prediabetics are often encouraged to change their eating and exercise habits to slow the progression of their disease. Type 1 diabetes is no laughing matter A much smaller percentage of the population -- 1.25 million children and adults -- have what's known as type 1 diabetes. Those with type 1 diabetes have little to no insulin production from their pancreas, and as the Mayo Clinic notes, it's often caused by genetics or perhaps exposure to specific viruses. Type 1 diabetics also, according to a recent study in Australia between 1997-2003 and 2004-2010, have a life expectancy that's 12.2 years less than the general population. The overwhelming number of type 2 diabetes cases compared with type 1 often seems to overshadow the seriousness of type 1 diabetes, as well as the struggles and inconveniences type 1 diabetics face in constantly monitoring their blood sugar levels. Per Reuters, more than a third of type 1 diabetics are utilizing an insulin pump to help regulate their blood sugar. Life as a type 1 diabetic isn't easy. However, that could be about to change thanks to what could be described as the biggest breakthrough ever gaining clearance well ahead of schedule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The biggest breakthrough ever for type 1 diabetics As announced by medical device powerhouse Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on Wednesday, the FDA has approved the company's "artificial pancreas" device known as the MiniMed 670G six mo Continue reading >>
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This Scientific Breakthrough Could Be The Next Miracle Cure For Type 1 Diabetes
Attention, all type 1 diabetics: Your days of insulin injections may be numbered, thanks to a revolutionary new medicine. California-based company ViaCyte just developed a stem cell implant called PEC-Direct, and it could be the next miracle cure for diabetes. The implant grows insulin-producing cells from stem cells, which would eventually help manage glucose levels in type 1 diabetes patients. If the implant successfully passes the clinical trials, patients would no longer need to inject themselves with insulin. (And, more good news: researchers are looking into ways to reverse type 1 diabetes.) “Patients with high-risk type 1 diabetes complications, such as hypoglycemia unawareness, are at constant risk of life-threatening low blood glucose,” clinical trial investigator Jeremy Pettus from University of California, San Diego, said in a press release. “The PEC-Direct islet cell replacement therapy is designed to help patients with the most urgent medical need.” Placed just below the skin, these implants are no larger than credit cards—but they could have a life-changing impact for diabetics. As the stem cells mature inside the human body, they will become specialized pancreas cells that release insulin automatically when needed. “There are limited treatment options for patients with high-risk type 1 diabetes to manage life-threatening hypoglycemic episodes,” added ViaCyte president and CEO Paul Laikind. “We believe that the PEC-Direct product candidate has the potential to transform the lives of these patients.” Clinical trials just began last week. Two patients received injections of PEC-Direct implants and will be monitored for the next several months. If all goes according to plan, the cells will mature in three months and begin releasing insulin a Continue reading >>
