Diabetes Cure

There is no known cure for diabetes. Presently there are various studies ongoing which show some promise but have suffered from some setbacks as well. Some of them are:

Harvard Diabetes Research

Harvard researchers were involved in a landmark study which produced a permanent cure for Type 1 Diabetes in mice. This was accomplished by injecting the mice with a combination of a protein which controlled the immune system and an injection of spleen cells. Since Type 1 Diabetes is characterized by destruction of the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, the spleen cells acted as stem cells and produced new pancreatic cells in the mice. Soon, they were producing their own insulin and had normal blood sugar levels without the need for further treatment. Another test was done using only the auto-immune drugs and it was found that the pancreas still regenerated, just at a slower rate. If this treatment will work in humans, it may also be used to cure other autoimmune diseases.

University Of Washington Diabetes Research

Ake Lernmark, PhD, of the University of Washington in Seattle and Lund University in Malmo, Sweden may have identified an anti-self immune response (i.e. pancreatic enzyme GAD), led to the development of a vaccine called Diamyd which incorporates an artificial GAD protein. Although immune tolerance is a natural process, it is very difficult to induce. If a person is exposed to the right amounts, it may help the immune system to recognize it as normal, however if too little is used, nothing will happen and using too much can cause harm. Early clinical trials show that the vaccine may be able to stop autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells safely and effectively. Recent trials unfortunately needed to be stopped when there was a mix up in the doses of the vaccine and a placebo.

Industry Diabetes Research

A revolutionary technique for transplanting insulin-making pancreas cells from cadavers to desperately ill diabetes patients called the Edmonton Protocol invented James Shapiro, MD, PhD, and some of his colleagues is not today a cure for diabetes, but shows some promise. The patients receive insulin-making islet cells from brain-dead organ donors as well as immune-suppressing drugs to prevent rejection of the transplanted cells. Clinical trials were limited to 36 adult subjects at an average age of 41 all with poorly controlled long term (more than 25 years) diabetes. During the study, 58% of the patients no longer needed insulin injections although three out of four of these patients needed insulin within two years of the testing, though some no longer needed insulin treatments. While this may not be available immediately for wide-spread use because of the limited success, it opens doors to additional islet cell research.

Managing your diabetes while researchers continue to search for a cure for this chronic disease is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Carefully monitor your blood glucose levels and contact your doctor immediately if you have any issues that might lead to complications.