Posted on 05/05/2008 10:31:25 PM PDT by neverdem
Ryan Collins of Aldie, Va., was only 10 weeks old when doctors made the diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes. That meant up to eight insulin shots per day, a big burden on him and his family.
“He couldn’t be anywhere unless there was someone around to give a shot,” said his mother, Dana Collins. “Everything had to be planned. There was no impromptu anything.”
Until last month, that is, when Ryan, now almost 7, stopped needing shots.
Ryan, it turns out, does not have Type 1 diabetes after all. He has a rare form of diabetes, not yet discovered when he was born, that is caused by a genetic mutation. And it is treatable by a pill.
Ryan’s story is the latest case of how research is changing doctors’ understanding of diabetes.
Diabetes is named, from the Greek, for its symptoms of heavy thirst and frequent urination. But for hundreds of years, it has been possible to make a further breakdown. Diabetes mellitus, from the Latin for honeyed, was the form with sweet urine. Diabetes insipidus was marked by bland or insipid urine.
This may have been the first time two diseases with similar symptoms were distinguished by a “molecular” test. “We had receptors for one molecule and could figure it out,” said Dr. Yves A. Lussier, director of the center for biomedical informatics at the University of Chicago, referring to taste buds.
Today these are considered completely different diseases. Mellitus is the one commonly called diabetes. It involves high blood sugar and insulin. Insipidus is related to a different hormone, vasopressin.
In the 1930s, after it became possible to treat diabetes with insulin derived from animals, diabetes mellitus itself began to be subdivided into what would come to be called Type 1, marked by lack of insulin, and Type 2,...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Is This A Cure For Diabetes? http://www.informationaboutdiabetes.com/news/cure-for-diabetes.php
A great story to start the day!
Excellent report! I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more about Diabetes causes, effects, etc. very soon. I think many doctors are locked into very old theories.
*shrug* They’ve mostly abandoned blood letting and leaches. Mostly.
BTTT
That story is a year and a half old and promises results in 1-2 years. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything new about it. At least I can’t find any follow up info online.
Researchers find gene linked to severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases
New Data on Sea Ice Contradicts Media Climate Change Reporting
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I just googled “diabetes, chili peppers”. Very interesting. It is well known that chili peppers are very effective for inflamation.
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Roman health care marches on. :') Thanks neverdem.Diabetes mellitus, from the Latin for honeyed, was the form with sweet urine. Diabetes insipidus was marked by bland or insipid urine... Today these are considered completely different diseases. Mellitus is the one commonly called diabetes. It involves high blood sugar and insulin. Insipidus is related to a different hormone, vasopressin.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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marked to read later..
This is most likely one of those "cures" that work great for mice, but for which no human tests have been conducted; and will fail when the tests finally are conducted.
I heard one researcher say that a lot of the treatments that work great on mice, very often don't work at all on humans. Humans are much more complex.
It'd be great if this treatment carried over ... but I'm not putting my hopes on it.
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