New diabetes treatment just announced?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Just seen an announcement on BBC news that a new type 1 EXPERIMENTAL diabetes treatment has been announced a few hours ago.
They claim that in experments on mice they have reversed diabetes in mice within 40 days so that the mice no longer need insulin.
Just Googled for a while and turned up no informative links, guess there will be many very soon, but in the meantime…

  1. Can we have some informed opinions from medical Dopers, please?
  2. How does one get on the list for medical trials?

I am not diabetic, but I have a very beloved friend in the USA who has it quite seriously (several injections a day)

2

I’m a two injections a day type of guy. (testing my blood 5+ times a day is what kills me and costs too much $$$)

When links start showing up please post them I’d love to hear some new treatments.

3

I would be interested in learning about this as well, t hough I am not a diabetic either.

4

Link now up.

5

Hmmm, check the link under “see also” on the page I just linked to (top right of page), there was an announcment in June 2001 that says the same thing, and quotes from the same scientist.
Shit, hope I haven’t jumped the gun here, I really want this to be genuine.

6

This treatment seems to hold hope for those type I (juvenile) diabetics whose disease is caught very early, before pancreatic islet cell function is lost completely. I doubt it would have a role in treating those with established type I disease.

And working in mice means its still a long way away from working in humans.

Best bet: Combine this approach with stem cell research. Stem cells to replace lost islet cells, and immunotherapy to keep the body from attacking the new islet cells.

Of course, fruitful stem cell research is gonna be scarce in the US due to the paucity of stem cell lines.

QtM, MD

7

Thanks, Qadgop.
Didn’t really have my hopes up.

8

Well, I saw a longer article on it today, and actually it is quite a breakthru. Again, it won’t be translated into changes we’ll be seeing clinically tomorrow or next year, but maybe time time to make a difference for some current people with type I in their lifetime

9

Qadgop,

My doctor mentioned that they are developing an inhaler so that diabetics can use that instead of injections.

Have you heard of anything like this or is it something that is still a long time in developing?

I can only imagine what a relief that would be for diabetics.

10

Insulin Inhaler is being worked on.

Another product in development is a device to measure blood sugar without getting blood out of your body. It will be like the device that goes on your finger at the hospital that measures oxygen saturation in your blood. The reading will be done through the skin.

11

they already have the watch that measures your sweat and gives you a blood sugar reading off of it. (it’s in the movie Panic Room) only problem is it costs a TON of money and is only about 80% accurate.

12

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A nurse I worked with has used something like this in a military hospital (?)