Type I Diabetes Ping List
FR mail me to add yourself! (Type IIs welcome, too.)
Posted on 12/15/2006 8:44:37 AM PST by kellynla
In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease that affects millions of Canadians.
Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.
"I couldn't believe it," said Dr. Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children and one of the scientists. "Mice with diabetes suddenly didn't have diabetes any more."
The researchers caution they have yet to confirm their findings in people, but say they expect results from human studies within a year or so. Any treatment that may emerge to help at least some patients would likely be years away from hitting the market.
But the excitement of the team from Sick Kids, whose work is being published today in the journal Cell, is almost palpable.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Dr. Hans Michael Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the studies. "In my career, this is unique."
Their conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes, the most serious form of the illness that typically first appears in childhood, was solely caused by auto-immune responses -- the body's immune system turning on itself.
They also conclude that there are far more similarities than previously thought between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role in other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn's disease.
The "paradigm-changing" study opens "a novel, exciting door to address one of the diseases with large societal impact," said Dr. Christian Stohler, a leading U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of Maryland, who has reviewed the work.
"The treatment and diagnosis of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a dramatic leap forward because of the impressive research."
About two million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10% of them with Type 1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year.
Insulin replacement therapy is the only treatment of Type 1, and cannot prevent many of the side effects, from heart attacks to kidney failure.
In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to shift glucose into the cells that need it. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin that is produced is not used effectively -- something called insulin resistance -- also resulting in poor absorption of glucose.
The problems stem partly from inflammation -- and eventual death -- of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.
Dr. Dosch had concluded in a 1999 paper that there were surprising similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease. His interest was also piqued by the presence around the insulin-producing islets of an "enormous" number of nerves, pain neurons primarily used to signal the brain that tissue has been damaged.
Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, he and Dr. Salter used an old experimental trick -- injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the pancreatic sensory nerves in mice that had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.
"Then we had the biggest shock of our lives," Dr. Dosch said. Almost immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally "It was a shock ? really out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything about this."
It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the proper functioning of the islets. Further study by the team, which also involved the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, found that the nerves in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides, resulting in a "vicious cycle" of stress on the islets.
So next they injected the neuropeptide "substance P" in the pancreases of diabetic mice, a demanding task given the tiny size of the rodent organs. The results were dramatic.
The islet inflammation cleared up and the diabetes was gone. Some have remained in that state for as long as four months, with just one injection.
They also discovered that their treatments curbed the insulin resistance that is the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes, and that insulin resistance is a major factor in Type 1 diabetes, suggesting the two illnesses are quite similar.
While pain scientists have been receptive to the research, immunologists have voiced skepticism at the idea of the nervous system playing such a major role in the disease. Editors of Cell put the Toronto researchers through vigorous review to prove the validity of their conclusions, though an editorial in the publication gives a positive review of the work.
"It will no doubt cause a great deal of consternation," said Dr. Salter about his paper.
The researchers are now setting out to confirm that the connection between sensory nerves and diabetes holds true in humans. If it does, they will see if their treatments have the same effects on people as they did on mice.
Nothing is for sure, but "there is a great deal of promise," Dr. Salter said.
Well, I certainly hope this is true. But hold onto your grains of salt. Canadian research is right up there with Korean and Mexican.
My son has type 1 and it is very difficult, if not impossible to maintain HC1A levels which a normal person would have. Maintaining proper blood sugar is vital is reducing the possible ill affects of diabetes, but I think most doctors would say you can reduce the chances in type 1 diabetics, but never to the level of a non diabetic.
That was my immediate thought. How are the Pharma.. co.s going to get by without my over $250.00 monthly I spend for Insulin? Second thought was will they actually allow it to happen?
The research is interesting, but this kind of "very exciting, five years away from a cure" thing has been around since I first got sick.
Ironically, insulin itself was first isolated in Toronto.
ping
They could pretend they're software IP vultures and patent the idea of curing someone's diabetes by giving them a treatment that would cause the diabetes to go away. Hey, maybe I'll patent that right there.
bump
That last sentence is just plain unsat.
This ain't AIDs, so there will be no push.
I note idly that it took WAY too many posts for this one to come up. Whatsa matta you peoples?
Michael J. Fox will be upset that the cure didn't involve putting fetuses into a meat grinder and feeding them to the mice.
If the Canadians have actually cured diabetes, then Hillary will quote it as proof socialized medicine works.
Ditto.
"...thought the only promising thing out there was Byetta..."
Have you tried Byetta? How does it work?
This will make a major dent in Wilford Brimley's income. No more diabetes commercials for him. Now what are those mail order drug companies going to push to seniors in those annoying commercials?
Thanks for the ping...this is amazing..and I will look forward to seeing what happens with human tests.
PLEASE, GOD, LET THIS ONE BE FOR REAL!........
>>>...mail order drug companies going to push to seniors in those annoying commercials?
Incontinence products.
The CBC story you linked suggests that the treatment would only prevent susceptible people from getting type I, and maybe cure people who have only had it for a little while (i.e., islet cells are damaged but not destroyed yet). No use for people like me: ten years since diagnosis, islet cells long dead. Still, I wouldn't have to worry as much about my boys getting it.
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