Human Clinical Trial Reveals Verapamil As An Effective Type 1 Diabetes Therapy
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines ! Human clinical trial reveals verapamil as an effective type 1 diabetes therapy Researchers have discovered a safe and effective novel therapy to reduce insulin requirements and hypoglycemic episodes in adult subjects with recent onset type 1 diabetes by promoting the patient's own beta cell function and insulin production -- the first such discovery to target diabetes in this manner. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Diabetes Center have discovered a safe and effective novel therapy to reduce insulin requirements and hypoglycemic episodes in adult subjects with recent onset Type 1 diabetes by promoting the patient's own beta cell function and insulin production -- the first such discovery to target diabetes in this manner. The findings, published today by Nature Medicine, reveal that regular oral administration of verapamil, a common blood pressure medication first approved for medical use in 1981, enabled patients to produce higher levels of their own insulin, limiting their need for insulin injections to balance out their blood sugar levels. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial identified verapamil as a safe, effective, and promising therapy -- a groundbreaking finding in the field of diabetes research. "The data collected from our clinical trial gives us every indication to believe that individuals with Type 1 diabetes have the promise of a treatment approach that would reduce their external insulin requirements and improve their blood sugar control and quality of life, thanks to the effects that verapamil has in promoting the body's own beta cell function," said Anath Shalev, M.D., director of UAB's Comprehensive Diabetes Center a Continue reading >>
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Researcher May Have Found A Cure For Diabetes
The most common form of treatment for Type 1 diabetes involves monitoring glucose levels and injecting insulin several times a day. Ending the world’s diabetes epidemic could be one step closer, with a promising new technique curing the condition in mice. Scientists at the University of Texas announced the breakthrough, which uses a novel approach that may eliminate Type 1 diabetes and see painful insulin injections become a thing of the past. University of Texas Health Science Center doctors used a virus as a carrier to introduce insulin-producing genes into the pancreas of rodent subjects. Professor Ralph DeFronzo said researchers altered cells so they secreted insulin, but only in response to glucose — mimicking the behavior of the body’s beta cells. This study bypasses the autoimmune system by altering other pancreatic cells so they can co-exist with immune defenses — unlike beta cells, which are rejected in Type 1 patients. At the moment, Type 1 diabetes is treated by monitoring glucose levels and injecting artificial insulin several times a day. While technology has made management of the condition easier, a cure has been elusive — until now. The patent’s co-inventor, Professor Bruno Doiron, said the results had never been seen before. “It worked perfectly,” Doiron said. “We cured mice for one year without any side effects.” Doiron predicted the same low-risk response in humans. “If a Type 1 diabetic has been living with these cells for 30, 40 or 50 years, and all we’re getting them to do is secrete insulin, we expect there to be no adverse immune response.” DeFronzo said the same method of treatment has been approved almost 50 times by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat various conditions, including rare childhood diseases. Whi Continue reading >>
Diabetes 'cure' In Sight
Doctors believe they may have found a cure for diabetes, ending the misery of daily insulin injections for millions of sufferers. They have not only managed to halt the disease in mice but also reversed it. Human trials will start shortly and, if they are successful, relief could be in sight for 350,000 sufferers in Britain and 194million worldwide. It could also lift a huge burden from the NHS - experts say treating the disease will account for a fifth of all health service spending by 2010. The breakthrough was made by American researchers who injected diabetic mice with spleen cells from healthy animals. Apart from halting the disease, the treatment rebuilt the pancreas, a process which doctors previously thought impossible. Dr Eleanor Kennedy, research director at Diabetes UK, said: 'The initial results are potentially very exciting. 'But this research is in the very early stages and a lot more work still needs to be done.' At this stage, the research has focused on Type-1 diabetes, which usually affects children and young adults. Sufferers do not produce enough insulin, the hormone which helps break down glucose, and without regular injections they would die. Type-2, the most common form, usually occurs in people who are over 45 and overweight. With up to a quarter of people now classified as obese, experts have warned the disease is reaching epidemic proportions. Continue reading >>
A Cure For Type 1 Diabetes? Massachusetts General Hospital Study Finds Generic Drug Promising
A cure for type 1 diabetes? Massachusetts General Hospital study finds generic drug promising Research at Massachusetts General Hospital looks increasingly like a long-term cure for type 1 diabetes, with a newly released study on Thursday showing patients have normal blood sugar levels eight years after a clinical trial. In research published Thursday in journal npj Vaccines, patients who had been treated with the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine -- an inexpensive, generic vaccine used around the world to prevent tuberculosis -- had normal blood sugar levels eight years after the trial ended. While it took three years for patients to see results from the vaccine, two doses of the drug spaced four weeks apart were still having a lasting impact eight years later. "It's kind of big news," said Dr. Denise Faustman, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital immunobiology laboratory and principal investigator of the trial. "It's the first trial showing (long-term reversal of diabetes), and more trials are on the way. But scientifically it's pretty cool." The recently published study also details how the vaccine genetically alters the body's white blood cells so they process glucose, making up for the pancreas' inability to produce insulin to do the same. In type 1 diabetes -- referred to in the past as juvenile diabetes -- the immune system damages the pancreas and blocks the cells from producing insulin. "It's not only the discovery that something cheap in new cohorts brings down blood sugar, but why. We've discovered new pathways for lowering blood sugar," Faustman said. "It's an important discovery for the basic science of diabetes care. And by the way, we have a cheap BCG vaccine that seems to be doing it." Faustman has been working for over a decade on trials Continue reading >>
Who Will Profit From The Cure For Type 1 Diabetes?
Who will profit from the cure for Type 1 diabetes? Authors note:Opinions expressed in this editorial piece are my own. This is written and shared as a member of the Type 1 diabetes community, not in any official capacity related to my position at Beyond Type 1. Read the newsannouncement on this partnership here . Today, Eli Lilly and Company announced a large investment in a small cell-encapsulation research company called Sigilon Therapeutics. Today, I realized something Id never before considered: the same company profiting from the insulin people with Type 1 diabetes must take to stay alive may be the gatekeeper of a one-day cure. I received the press release announcement in my email inbox. As the Communications Manager at Beyond Type 1, I often help cover industry news announcements. Sometimes thats straightforward. This week it wasnt. Ive lived with Type 1 diabetes for 16 years I just celebrated my diaversary this weekend. My dad has Type 1. My maternal grandfather also has Type 1. I have taken insulin via injection or infusion now for 5,842 days. Averaging about 60 units a day, thats about $100,000 worth of insulin (at the current list price) just to make it to 24 years old. Because Ive enjoyed the privilege of health insurance, the bulk of this money hasnt typically come directly out of my familys pockets. But for millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans, it does. Lilly, one of the big 3 insulin manufacturers alongside Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, has increased the list price of insulin over 1,123% since 1996. Last year, the list price for Lillys popular fast-acting insulin Humalog was raised to $275.58 per bottle up another 7.8%. To add insult to injury, these increases have occurred in lock-step between the three companies prompting multiple class action la Continue reading >>
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Dr Bart Roep: The Man Who Wants To Cure Type 1 Diabetes Within Six Years
'The C-word is controversial within diabetes circles, yet the City of Hope had no reticence about making the claim.' - Jack Woodfield. Dr Bart Roep is the director of the diabetes research facilityat the City of Hope's Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute. Born in the Netherlands, he leads a team whose mission is to cure type 1 diabetes, and while their ambitions are lofty, so is their early success. In March, Dr Roep's team published the results of a 14-year-boy with type 1 diabetes who underwent stem cell transplantation. The boy has since been free from insulin without any side effects for eight years. This, Dr Roep said, was the first definitive proof that type 1 diabetes can be cured. But there are still several critical questions to be answered. Dr Roep acknowledges that cure is "a dangerous word to use" in regard to type 1 diabetes research. "What we are trying to do is understand why people get type 1 diabetes and to translate this to find a cure," Roep said. "That is, of course, a dangerous word to use. But we think that we are onto a couple of leads." One of these leads is islet cell transplantation, a procedure that involves transplanting islet (insulin-producing) cells into patients from donor pancreases. In some cases, the transplants can help a patient come off insulin, but other times the cells are rejected or attacked by the immune system unless immunosuppressant drugs are also given, which can cause side effects. Dr Roep's team made a significant discovery along the way: by reading the immune signatures of patients they were able to predict how successful transplantation would be. Dr Roep says this is the first step towards personalising medicine in type 1 diabetes. "It turns out we can predict before surgery who has a fantastic chance of lasting Continue reading >>
Smart Egg Cartons To Transport Cells To Cure Diabetes
Smart egg cartons to transport cells to cure diabetes April 13, 2018 by Aurelien Forget, Darling Rojas-Canales And Tim Dargaville, The Conversation Isolated pancreas cells stained bright green are shown sitting in the wells of the transport egg carton. Credit: Aurelien Forget , Author provided We have developed "smart egg carton" packages for transporting live human pancreas cells for transplantation to diabetic patients. The egg cartons provide oxygen and allow physical separation to prevent damage and death to the cells known as islet cells during transport. Besides a whole pancreas transplant (which has a high mortality rate), currently the only cure for diabetes is islet cell transplantation. It's a procedure available to patients with complicated Type 1 diabetes. Although hundreds of patients have successfully received donor islet cells , the rates of cell survival and effective transplantation would be vastly improved if more cells survived the initial removal and transport phases. Our technology addresses this issue. In a patient suffering from Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is not able to produce insulin, the hormone responsible for glucose metabolism. As a result, these patients need to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels, and adjust these with insulin injections throughout the day. Instability in blood glucose levels has significant implications for the patient's health in the long term , mainly due to changes in very small blood vessels that lead to diseases of the eye, kidney, nerves and cardiovascular system. Normally, insulin is produced by -cells (pronounced as "beta cells"). -cells exist in the pancreas in a packed group of cells called the "islets of Langerhans", or islets for short. Along with the -cells, other cells within the islet also pro Continue reading >>
![Dont Manage Diabetes Reverse It [opinion]](https://diabetestalk.net/images/hRkuzvXaFOHUxpCx.jpg)
Dont Manage Diabetes Reverse It [opinion]
Dont manage diabetes reverse it [Opinion] Dont manage diabetes reverse it [Opinion] 1of 2Is it possible to cure diabetes? New studies hint that proper diet and exercise could render medication unnecessary.Photo: vitapix, Contributor / Getty Images/iStockphoto 2of 2Nancy Ryan, a Greenwich Hospital registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, during an interview at Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, Conn., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.Photo: Bob Luckey Jr., Staff photographer / Hearst Connecticut Media That's how much diabetes cost the United States last year. Despite all this spending and lost productivity, the disease still does tremendous damage: It's one of the nation's top three causes of death, killing more than 80,000 people each year. Diabetes takes a particularly large toll here in Houston. More than 15 percent of adults have the condition. All told, diabetes costs the state more than $12.5 billion annually. And that figure will only go up. By 2040, it is projected that 1 in 5 residents will have diabetes. Shockingly, a huge reason for these high figures is the way our medical community treats the condition: Conventional wisdom suggests that diabetes can only be managed. But this thinking is now outdated. A growing body of research clearly demonstrates that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed. To protect the health of Texans, we must put that knowledge into practice. Diabetes comes in two varieties. One in 20 patients have Type 1. For these patients, the body's own immune system attacks the cells that generate insulin. A full 95 percent of those living with diabetes have Type 2, which usually develops in adulthood. For these patients, the bodys cells become resistant to insulin. Both types make it difficult to process glucose sugar in the blood. Without proper treatm Continue reading >>
Army Vet Is 'first In The World To Cure His Type 1 Diabetes - Thanks To Diet, Exercise And Mutated Gene'
Army vet is first in the world to CURE his type 1 diabetes thanks to diet, exercise and mutated gene Daniel Darkes, 31, was diagnosed with the life-long, incurable condition eight years ago AN ARMY vet claims he's the first person in the world to cure his type 1 diabetes - using just diet and exercise. Daniel Darkes was diagnosed with the condition when he was 23 years old. Daniel Darkes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2010 And for the last eight years, he has taken daily insulin injections to regulate his blood sugar levels. But the 31-year-old claims in February last year his daily finger prick tests showed his blood sugar levels had miraculously returned to normal. The dad-of-one, from Daventry, Northants, stopped injecting himself with insulin, four times a day as usual, last March. And his blood sugar levels have remained stable ever since. Eight years later, the army veteran no longer needs daily insulin injections, after his blood sugar levels have stayed stable for a year After having tests in the US to investigate why, doctors discovered Daniel's pancreas has started working "on its own again". He claims medics are now convinced his type 1 diabetes may have disappeared completely. The former British Army Grenadier Guard believes his diet, which is high in zinc, nuts, oily fish and veg, and a love of running more than 60 miles a week are the secret to his unbelievable reversal of the incurable autoimmune disease. Doctors also discovered Dan has a rare, abnormal gene, which they believe could have started to "recharge" his immune system - kick-starting his pancreas to aid his recovery. The dad-of-one believes diet and exercise have played a role, but medics also discovered he carries an abnormal gene that could have kick-started his pancreas Type 1 diabete Continue reading >>
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How To Cure Type 2 Diabetes Without Drugs
How to cure Type 2 diabetes without drugs Cumbrian GP says you can reverse health problems in as little as 8 weeks Type 2 diabetes can be cured in as little as eight weeks without drugs. Cumbrian GP John Howarth said new evidence shows an intensive weight loss regime can banish the condition for good. The number of people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes across Cumbria is now soaring, largely due to obesity. There have been cases of overweight children developing the condition. But Dr Howarth believes encouraging weight loss rather than controlling it with drugs is a far better option for many. "Being overweight increases your risk of diabetes. If you have a BMI of 30 you are 2.6 times more likely to get diabetes. By the time you get to BMI 40, that risk is 10 times more," he explained. "Diabetes is one of the most common causes of blindness and causes lot of circulation problems, which can lead to amputations. What people do not know is that obesity is one of the key causes. "But we know we can cure type 2 diabetes. There's some recent research that if you're a newly-diagnoses diabetic and go on a big diet to lose a lot of weight very quickly, you can cure your diabetes." He said that in more than half of the cases, a newly-diagnosed diabetic who loses 15 kilos will see their blood sugar levels return to normal. "That's because the fat around the liver and pancreas gradually goes away and insulin levels return to normal," explained Dr Howarth. "If you had a drug that did that it would be worth billions." He said GPs need to think about changing their practice. "What we are typically doing is putting people on drugs to control their diabetes. What we need to be doing instead is encouraging significant weight loss," he explained. He said the longer people leave it, Continue reading >>
Retooled Vaccine Raises Hopes As A Lower-cost Treatment For Type 1 Diabetes
Retooled vaccine raises hopes as a lower-cost treatment for Type 1 diabetes July 17, 2018 by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, Kaiser Health News For Hodalis Gaytan, 20, living with Type 1 diabetes means depending on an assortment of expensive medicines and devices to stay healthy. Test strips. Needles. A glucose meter. Insulin. The increasing cost of Type 1 diabetes, one of the most common serious chronic diseases, has created heavy financial burdens for families and generated controversy, with insulin prices more than doubling in the past decade. Without her parent's insurance, "I would not be alive," said Gaytan, a student at the University of Maryland. The burden of treatment is why a small study that shows promise for a simpler, cheaper alternative treatment to Type 1 diabetes is being met with hopebut also with caution and skepticism. The research, published June 21 in the journal Nature Partner Journal Vaccines, showed that an older generic vaccine may help lower the blood sugar level of patients with Type 1 diabetes, decreasing their need for insulin. The vaccine, BCG, is used in a number of countries to prevent tuberculosis and has long been known to stimulate the immune system as well. That vaccine is relatively cheap, costing about $157 per dose in the United States, according to the health care technology company Connecture. In the study, participants with long-standing Type 1 diabetes were injected with two doses of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin tuberculosis vaccineknown as BCGfour weeks apart. Three of the patients were observed for eight years. Nine participants were followed for five years. The blood sugar levelsknown as A1cof those followed for eight years dropped by more than 10 percent three years after the injection and were sustained for five more years. While Continue reading >>
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Is There A Diabetes Cure?
With all the research on diabetes and advances in diabetes treatments, it's tempting to think someone has surely found a diabetes cure by now. But the reality is that there is no cure for diabetes -- neither type 1 diabetes nor type 2 diabetes. (Although lifestyle changes can achieve remission in type 2 diabetes in some cases.) However, there are treatments, including simple things you can do daily, that make a big difference. No. Natural therapies such as deep abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and biofeedback can help relieve stress. And emotional stress affects your blood sugar levels. So learning to relax is important in managing your diabetes. Supplements don't cure diabetes, either. Some natural supplements may interact dangerously with your diabetes medication. Others have been shown to help improve your diabetes, but always check with your doctor before taking any supplement. Be skeptical about claims of a diabetes cure. A genuine cure will have been tested repeatedly in clinical trials with clear success. Even though there's no diabetes cure, diabetes can be treated and controlled, and some people may go into remission. To manage diabetes effectively, you need to do the following: Manage your blood sugar levels. Know what to do to help keep them as near to normal as possible every day: Check your glucose levels frequently. Take your diabetes medicine regularly. And balance your food intake with medication, exercise, stress management, and good sleep habits. Plan what you eat at each meal. Stick to your diabetes eating plan as often as possible. Bring healthy snacks with you. You’ll be less likely to snack on empty calories. Exercise regularly. Exercise helps you keep you fit, burns calories, and helps normalize your blood gluc Continue reading >>
8 Amazing Breakthroughs In Diabetes Research That Are Giving Us Hope
8 Amazing Breakthroughs in Diabetes Research That Are Giving Us Hope According to recent research , we're not entirely sure how many diseases the label 'diabetes' covers. But no matter what causes our bodies to struggle with their blood sugar levels, it's a serious condition that requires daily care. Scientists have been working hard to find cures, new treatments, and better management techniques for the millions of people worldwide dealing with diabetes. Here are some of the latest developments you need to know about. 1. Insulin producing implants made from stem cells Clinical trials began last year for testing for ViaCyte's PEC-Direct device ; a credit-card sized implant containing insulin-producing cells derived from stem cells. Previous research had shown the implants could mature and function inside patients. Together with a cohort of volunteers who started testing in January, the new research should tell us soon whether the technology can help people with type-1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops when a person's immune system wipes out insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. But it turns out that another type of immature beta cell has been hiding in our pancreases all along, and scientists think it might be possible to use these 'virgin beta cells' to restore the functionality of the pancreas. A drug on the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs could have another purpose ; blocking a molecule implemented in the autoimmune response that can give rise to type-1 diabetes. Called methyldopa, the compound already has an important job treating high blood pressure in pregnant women and children. It's left to be seen if it could help reduce the incidence of diabetes in some way, but the fact it's already being used - rather than being stuck in the lab Continue reading >>
Advancing Toward A Cure | Joslin Diabetes Center
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 bodys immune system turns on itself and destroys these islet cells. As a result, the body cant produce the insulin required to escort glucose from the food we eat to where it is neededinto the cells of the bodys 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 cellsto produce insulin againeither 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 inflammation. Joslin researchers have pursued Continue reading >>
Common Vaccine May Cure Type 1 Diabetes, Study Says
Common vaccine may cure Type 1 diabetes, study says Common vaccine may cure Type 1 diabetes, study says (CNN) - A new treatment for Type 1 diabetes may be around the corner. A study published in the Nature Partner Journals highlighted a promising new use for a generic vaccine called Bacillus CalmetteGurin, or BCG. The vaccine is used in a number of countries to prevent tuberculosis. Also known as juvenile diabetes, Type 1 diabetes means the immune system attacks the cells that create insulin, a critical hormone that regulates the body's blood sugar, or A1C. In a small study, 12 patients A1C levels decreased after receiving two doses of BCG spaced four weeks apart. Researchers observed nine of the 12 patients for five years. The other three were monitored for eight years. A1C levels in those three patients dropped more than 10 percent in the three years following their injections. Experts are cautiously optimistic, warning that the study did not provide enough clinical evidence. But, Phase 2 is already underway. The researchers are monitoring 150 diabetic patients for five years. It will be at least another four years before the research is published. Continue reading >>
