Diabetes breakthrough

[cal04]

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.


http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=a042812e-492c-4f07-8245-8a598ab5d1bf&k=63970

[Straight Shooter]

1. Please let it be so.

Diabetes is a devastating disease.

[mtnester]

3. If true, this could be the miracle that SO many with Diabetes are looking for

My FIL is blind now, my SIL is losing her kidneys, and she is only 42. All this from Type I (childhood) Diabetes.

My Father in Law is almost a living exception to the longevity rates of those born with it. He is 71 years old.

My SIL is in much worse shape (FIL's daughter). I would be amazed if she makes it to 50.

So, as you said, please make this so.

[Straight Shooter]

46. .

:hug:

[Gman]

56. I lost my SIL earlier this year to diabetes related complications

she had had a kidney transplant years ago, then was again on dialysis for the last six or seven years. She had just turned 50.

[LeftCoast]

2. Wow! A cure would be wonderful!

Keeping my fingers crossed. It's a long way from mice to humans in terms of stuff like this, but still an incredible discovery!

[DixieBlue]

4. This is good news!

Here's to hoping the human trials produce the same results.

[phusion]

5. freaking awesome...

Let's hope it's for real!

[TexasProgresive]

6. I thought that this might apply only to type I diabetes

but it looks promising for those with insulin resistant (type II) also.

[JAYJDF]

7. Best news this year! Sure hope the pharma's don't

gobble up the rights and run the cost through the roof.
Pestimistic, but this is their M.O.
How much money will the pharma's loose not having to treat diabetes for life?

[MGD]

55. Diabetes is a huge money maker for the healthcare industry

I've had many a night on the hospital floor where 6 out of 6 of my patients were in for diabetes related complications.

[whistle]

8. I certainly hope this proves to be the case

[brooklynite]

9. Additional Details...

...snip...

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, about 10 percent of all diabetes cases.

It arises when certain cells responsible for insulin production become inflamed and are ultimately destroyed, making it impossible for the body to produce insulin.

...snip...

The group discovered that abnormal nerve endings in insulin-producing pancreas islet cells sparked a chain of events that caused Type 1 diabetes in mice.

When they removed the sensory neurons, it prevented inflammation of the cells and the mice did not develop the disorder.

...snip...

The treatment is now being tested for Type 2 or obesity-related diabetes, in which insulin resistance is even more severe, with "strong evidence" so far it will work, the researchers said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061215/hl_afp/canadaresearchhealth_061215165353

[Eurobabe]

27. This is great news, my best friend's 17 y/o daughter is Type I

dx'd at age 6. She's on the pump, and leads a fairly normal life, but there are always setbacks every once in awhile. I'd love to see her not need the insulin and the pump. :))))

[demnan]

10. Wow

great news for some of my loved ones for sure!

[TommyO]

11. As the child of two diabetics

this is astonishing news, I just hope that the human tests are as promising as the tests on these mice.

[Captain Hilts]

12. Following in the tradition of Frederick Banting....well done! nt

[LynzM]

13. This would be unbelievable if it translates to people!!

*trying not to get my hopes up*

Oops. Too late. I can't wait to see where this goes!

[Robbien]

14. I hope the diabetes drug companies don't fight this

which is probably the case when they realize they have to give up the profitable diabetes therapy drug market.

[bmbmd]

19. These studies were done in Canada.

Not as much interference from Big Pharma there.

[Egnever]

15. "I couldn't believe it,"

Me either.

I hope its true but I dont buy it for a second. I would like nothing more than there to be a cure for my 2 year old son but this sounds like snake oil to me. Time will tell but I find it incredibly difficult to believe that all of a sudden all the research pointing to islet cells being destroyed in T1 diabetics is all just simply wrong and they were really just supressed.

Let it be true I would love to see it. I dont buy it for a second though.

[bmbmd]

17. Assuming the neuropathic disease model to hold constant

there would be a "golden window" of opportunity to treat diabetes. After the islet cells are dead, they are not going to miraculously recover. Early detection and treatment would be paramount in this model.

[Egnever]

21. Well I dont know about that.

According to faustmans research http://www.massgeneral.org/diabetes/%5Claboratory_type1.htm
The islets cells do regenerate in the absense of the attacking T cells. Of course her research is also in its early stages and is not yet proven either, However I find it much more credible that the islets cells are actually being destroyed than just somehow constricted.

Time will tell of course but again I just dont buy that thousands of researchers somehow got it wrong and the cells werent actually being destroyed.

[Changenow]

65. You know what,

I was reading that very thing this week, that the cells weren't totally destroyed after all. I recall that the researchers viewed it as important because if a cure was found all hope was not lost for those currently diagnosed.

It would take me hours to find it again, but the research was unrelated to this Canadian finding. I found it in a Google search of "causes of type 1 diabetes" or a closely related search, if you're interested.

[nashville_brook]

16. "malfunctioning pain neurons" -- wonder if this could apply to Fibro

[Nothing Without Hope]

24. Me too - and a bunch of other neurological diseases too n/t

[mzmolly]

58. That's what I was wondering.

hmmmmmmmmmm

[JVS]

18. Cool!

[valerief]

20. Oh, this is great. I hope the Murkans don't kill it. nt

[cal04]

22. Researchers find trigger for Type 1 diabetes

A Canadian-led research team has uncovered the trigger for Type 1 diabetes, a "breakthrough" that allowed them to cure the disease in mice and could ease the suffering of millions worldwide.


This discovery, a breakthrough that has long been the elusive goal of diabetes research, has led to new treatment strategies for diabetes, achieving reversal of the disease without severe, toxic immunosuppression," the scientists said in a statement.

The findings by researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine were published in the December 15 issue of the journal Cell.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, about 10 percent of all diabetes cases.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061215/wl_canada_afp/canadaresearchhealth_061215171744

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. Here's the story in the Toronto Star:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1166136614083&call_pageid=970599119419

(snip)

More research is needed to find out if this theory will work in humans, not to mention if it will shed light on new therapies for Type 2 diabetes, Dosch said.

In a reversal of what they expected, the researchers also found injecting substance P — a chemical secreted by nerve cells — into mice whose islet cells were inflamed and on the way to being destroyed not only eliminated the inflammation but reversed it.

"The blood glucose normalizes overnight and it stays low for weeks to months — this is with a single shot," Dosch said.

(snip)

The research is still in its early days, cautioned Dr. Ehud Ur, professor of medicine at Dalhousie University and chair of the clinical and scientific section of the Canadian Diabetes Association. Like other experts, he is less convinced about whether diabetes can be cured, noting the team's findings have no relevance to people who already have Type 1 diabetes.

(snip)

This is indeed a major breakthrough, though it's not yet clear how it will work in humans. My guess is that its first application would be to prevent Type I diabetes in those in greatest danger of developing it and to treat those in the process of losing their islet cells. I also wonder what impact this will have on ongoing research to produce a cell-based "artificial pancreas," such as encapsulated islet cells or other approaches to implanting functional, responsive cells in diabetic patients.

[flying_wahini]

25. my poor daddy died at 63 from complications of diabetes,

what a wonderful thing this would be.
keeping my fingers crossed.

[phusion]

26. One more benefit from green chile

From the article: "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."


Oh green chile how I love thee!

[Megahurtz]

31. Love Those Hot Peppers!

:9 Red ones too! And I use cayenne extract sometimes. A drop under the tongue every so often.
It's good for circulation and inflammation.

I wish more people would learn more about alternative medicine and therefore boycott Big Pharma!

[diamidue]

72. Cayenne also said to stop heart attacks

in an emergency. Take one tsp. in warm water ASAP. I occasionally rinse my eyes out with a tiny, tiny amt. of cayenne in water to cleanse them.

[TheModernTerrorist]

28. holy shit!

That's awesome. Of course now we know that, unless we have some sort of standardized or socialized healthcare in OUR country, that the treatment for this will blow through the roof, and most of America will never see the help they need.

[Donnachaidh]

29. And watch the FDA suddenly demand 50 years of testing

Before it can be used in the States. :sarcasm:

[corkhead]

30. Imagine what the Canadians could do if they had our vastly superior health system

just in case...

:sarcasm:

[brentspeak]

47. Good one

As an American, I want a Canadian-style health system.

[flyarm]

73. oh how right you are in your sarcasm!!

lived part year every year for 22 yrs in Toronto ( my hubby was an athlete there)..

and i will tell you they have incredible medicine there!! unlike what the gop always force feeds the ignorant american populace!!

fly

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. OH, fucking wonderful!

So our scientist in America are stuck protecting the scientific method against Spanish Inquisition style Christians, while the rest of the world is allowed to make major breakthroughs.

If America is falling behind, it isn't because of the lack of able people in America, it's because of far too much meddling from people who shouldn't be part of the process.

[PDittie]

33. Great news

They will rush this to market, because lots of money is to be made.

[MonkeyFunk]

34. wow...

it'd be nice to kick that fucker of a disease to the curb.

[Vidar]

35. Hats off to the Canadians for this marvelous discovery. I'm

sure America will spend ten years through greed & incompetence, running up schemes to make money off any potential cures, making it far to late for me & many other victims of this disease. But at least Canada is doing its best to save lives & they deserve a great deal of support, gratitude & credit.

[StaggerLee]

36. Like we really needed another reason to love Canada

:loveya:


and you know we'll take it!

[dave29]

37. fantastic!

keeping my fingers crossed.

Who doesn't know someone that this would be a blessing to?

:)

[Bigmack]

38. Just more liberal "junk science"...

Seriously, I wonder how many rightwing science-ignoring diabetics will refuse this new therapy... if it works out.

After all, big pharma will be devastated by this "cure" just as much as "big oil/cars" would be devastated by any anti-global warming measures.

[Davis_X_Machina]

39. There is a long tradition...

...of Canadian diabetes research.

[Tippy]

40. WOW....I hope and pray this is true.....

I have diabetes...My sister had it, it will be two years in Feb...that she passed away, kidney failure...My nephew has it he has three young children who need a dad....he has already lost the sight in one eye and they recently had to remove the eye.....This would be a miracle for so many...

[tuvor]

41. CBC: Canadian scientists reverse diabetes in mice

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=222&topic_id=13182&mesg_id=13182

[intaglio]

42. My lady has type 2 so ....

k&r

[Deja Q]

43. That is AWESOME news!

Let's hope it continues to the most hopeful conclusion.

[Lurking Dem]

44. This could prove to be amazing.

Been down this road a few times too many to hold my breath but it sounds very promising.

[IDemo]

45. It's certainly a great time to be a mouse

I've been reading this line for many years:

"Any treatment that may emerge to help at least some patients would likely be years away from hitting the market."

Maybe things will happen a little more quickly this time, if this tests well in humans...

-Type 1, 45 years

[Raine]

75. My first thought too

gee that's really swell *IF* you're a mouse. Translating that from mouse to human is a lllllllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggg time coming if ever. My boyfriend has diabetes we're not looking for this to help in his lifetime.

[Scout]

48. What the heck are they talking about?

people only get diabetes because they are fat, lazy, overeaters!
:eyes:
(At least according to some people, some DUers included.)

You mean to say that there could be a biological cause beyond our control? I do hope this leads to a real cure.

[PeaceProgProsp]

49. That's what a country not spending billions on war can do.

[autorank]

50. This could be on of the greatest discoveries ever....KR -

And this is a good example of how science works sometimes.

Thank you.

[emmadoggy]

51. Lost my Dad to complications of diabetes just shy of 10 years ago at the age

of 52. My maternal grandfather also had it (non-insulin dependent). Both Type II. So my siblings and I are at a pretty high risk.

I hope this goes somewhere and it doesn't take a gazillion years for it to reach the people who need it. I hope that it is able to work on both type I and type II.

If this actually works, it will be enormous.

[Rude Horner]

52. I have type 2 diabetes

so I'm really crossing my fingers about this. Pleaasse, let it be so.

[byronius]

53. This is excellent. n/t

[Gregorian]

54. Yippee. Happy people, if this comes true.

I have witnessed the worst that diabetes has to inflict. Amputations, and people who just couldn't enjoy life at all.

I think most problems have simple solutions, but getting there sometimes takes a world of effort.

[mzmolly]

57. Nervous system?!

:wow: I'm flabbergasted.

[PennyK]

59. I wonder if it might help fatties too

No offense, I mean people like me who gain weight REALLY easily...since the Atkins diet works so well for me, it could be a problem with metabolizing sugar.

[Margaret Diann]

77. an autoimmune metabolic issue

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/notyourfault.htm">Overweight may not be your fault

Diabetes has an autoimmune aspect to it, too

[Atman]

60. The pharmaceutical industry will NOT like this!

They've spend billions and billions marketing fancy insulin monitors and home testing stuff. It's become a huge market, and a big money maker. Watch for this study to quietly disappear, or be "debunked," or found to be "erroneous."

I think it is great news, but just sayin...there is a reason you see so many diabetes ads on every channel.

Cha-ching.

.

[WestMichRad]

61. You're kidding, right?

Big pharma companies will be scrambing over each other to find treatments that will target the abnormal pancreas islet cell nerve endings. Someone who discovers an effective treatment, whether it be a drug or some other technology to deactivate these neurons, will be able to command an enormous price from a big pharma company who will be bidding to buy a multi-billion dollar product. It'll be like a bidding war on a superstar sports free agent.

If I was a pharma exec, I'd be salivating at the prospect and asking the accountants how much we can afford to pay for the rights.

That's free enterprise and the private health care system, like it or not. (I don't like it, in case you're wondering.)

But it sounds like a very promising discovery, and for diabetic patients everywhere I hope it leads to a preventative cure. They'll just have to be prepared to pay the piper, unfortunately.

[Margaret Diann]

67. You are right

Anything that stands in the way of the drug companies earning money will not be well received.

A woman who had a couple types of cancer shared with me that she followed various trials for cancer and one of them found a cure for cancer. The drug company that was funding the study cancelled it. They were not looking for a cure. They were wanting to prove how their meds were 'helpful'

I personally do not take the meds suggested by the doctor for my diabetes, and I have not taken my blood sugar in over a year. My theory, which is provable if you have enough medical info ... is that the chemical that causes diabetes is the chemical to be warry of ... It is 2-butoxyethanol exposure that causes wounds not to heal, eyesight problems, liver and kidney failures.

I looked at the side effects of glucophage, and it looked to me like they were inhibiting the liver from processing its share of nutrition into sugars the body can use. Do we really think that blood sugar being higher than 'normal' is the culprit for these other things? Just because it is there, doesn't mean it is the real issue.

Mess with my liver? NO WAY, not me. The chemical that is at work in me ... may some day target the liver, and I will not damage my liver ahead of time

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/paradigmshift.htm">I have a different view of diabetes

http://groups.msn.com/RenalLiver">What 2-butoxyethanol does

[Infinite Hope]

62. I'm 23 and have LOTS of diabetes on both sides...

in virtually every generation. This would come as an earth-shattering relief.

[Jennicut]

63. I'm a type2 but I hope this breakthrough really helps

I think mostly people with Type 1 will benefit as it could correct damage done in the pancreas. I have insulin resistance, was first diagnosed as having gestational diabetes wih my second child but it quickly turned to type 2 diabetes after just 3 months. I was diagnosed at just age 29, not overweight, no history in my family. It just happened. I have some insulin being made by my pancreas so I am type 2. It sucks to be diabetic and any new research is welcomed. It does get very expensive, though, even with insurance. Needles, test strips, long acting insulin, short acting insulin, glucogen pills. It adds up after a while.

[ribrepin]

64. Interesting

I was in an auto accident about nine years ago and was left with a permanently damaged leg which has hurt every day since. I was perfectly healthy @ the time of the accident, but developed diabetes almost as soon I began to bear weight on the leg. I developed several other autoimmune diseases around the same time.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if this is a cure? The diagnoses of diabetes was worse than being told my leg would never be the same.

[Margaret Diann]

66. What about autoimmune hypothalamus?

With an injury, it is possible that you also had a head injury? I know a many who fell out of a car as a young man and instantly became a type 1 diabetic when previously he had no diabetes.

I think it is damage to the hypothalamus (either from injury or from the 2-butoxyethanol chemical exposure that causes the immune system to become autoimmune & lead to CFS, or diabetes, even

I personally believe diabetes for the most part is secondary to a chemical exposure which damages the endocrine system, targets kidneys, liver ... and causes much of the CFS type issues.

In my case, I think my type 2 diabetes showed up as a 'late birth defect' of my dad's WW II exposure during war times. There is an epidemic of diabetes, NHL in the WWII Nations ... pancreatic cancers and liver cancers, too, such as Michael Landon had (He died at the age of 54 in 1991) Do you know what nations are looking for pancreatic cancer that might run in families? Japan, Germany, Spain, UK, Canada ... & USA. I suspect what they are really looking for is people from a family line that has been chemically poisoned. 2-butoxyethanol is a teratogen chemical: it harms the developing child. It should be suspect for Autism, leukodystrophies, abnormal child development, memory loss, many things

And YES, this chemical that should be suspect for causing diabetes causes many autoimmune actions against the nervous system

http://groups.msn.com/RenalLiver">What 2-butoxyethanol does

http://groups.msn.com/dee-randy/fordr.msnw">Look for the CFIDS pattern

http://groups.msn.com/oddsnends/psaavoid2be.msnw">Everyone would be well advised to avoid 2-butoxyethanol Or what you have will get worse & new autoimmune issues or tumors start up

And when the FLU symptoms happen, look for this chemical's exposure ... not a virus

http://groups.msn.com/RenalLiver/skepticalals.msnw">Suspect this chemical exposure also for the cause of ALS ... you would have to have a lot of exposure ... just count the times you had a serious flu, &/or your parents did

[ribrepin]

74. Welcome to DU Margaret Diann

Yeah, I had a deep gash in my forehead, but the CT showed no bleeding in the head. I also had a deep bruise across my stomach that lasted for months. Again, the CT showed no bleeding.

I took amitriptyline(Antidepressant that is also used to treat nerve pain) for about two years after the accident. Something in the amitriptyline suppresses nerve pain. It was explained to me how the medicine works on your neuro something. I just don't remember.

I developed hypothyroid a few months after I began to bear weight on the leg and high blood pressure a few months after that. I don't think I developed diabetes until I stopped taking the amitriptyline.

I find this whole thing very interesting. Maybe I just need to take the amitriptyline again. Unfortunately, amitriptyline makes you gain weight.

I'm hoping this will lead to a cure.

[Margaret Diann]

76. Thanks

I've been here but it's been awhile. I think the posts are mostly archived.

Anyway, it is odd all the items you mention that looks to me like the CFS (CFIDS) pattern
autoimmune issues
hypothyroid
high blood pressure
diabetes

I think some medications can cause harm, but I haven't looked up this one you're talking about

http://www.valdezlink.com/pages/flunotflu.htm#is

The order in which 'things' show up is sort of irrelevant

[KansDem]

68. Where do I sign up?!?!?

they expect results from human studies within a year or so

I ready to throw my vials of Lantus and Humalog in the dustbin!

(provided Big Pharma approves)

edited to add quote...

[CornField]

69. This makes me so happy I'm crying

Please... please... please... let this be the breakthrough we've been needing. I'd like the opportunity to keep my Type I husband around for years to come.

[IDemo]

70. Pharmaceutical companies won't stifle this, but they are businesses, after all

I'm inclined to believe that Big Pharma will extract the greatest possible profit from this neither by shelving it nor making it a permanent cure, but by engineering it to function as a 'maintenance medication'. The results of the testing on mice indicated a degree of variability on the effective timespan: "Some have remained in that state for as long as four months, with just one injection."

If it is 'determined' that the only 'safe treatment' winds up being monthly or bi-monthly injections (instead of say, yearly), profits will remain in place and patients will (mostly) be happy.

[flyarm]

71. my best friend was operated on in Toronto by his dad.

she had the worst arthritis of the hips and he rebuilt a hip for her from her pelvis bone..she was too young at the time for an artificial hip he felt..so he made a new hip for her from her pelvis..

he is incredible himself..

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Medicentre/en/salt_print.htm

and who other than the gop says socialized medicine is bad??

Hospital For Sick children has many many American kids in it..that can not get treatment for bad diseases in the USA

how do i know..my husband and i did alot of work with the hospital for the children!

I have done ice cream parties for the kids , and pizza parties for the teens..

it is an incredible hospital...

and do remember it was there that a proceedure for scoliosis was found..a it was also in Canada that the duchanes gene was isolated ...

Hospital For Sick Kids is an incredible hospital...

fly