Diabetes CURED???

[AlecWest]

Apparently, Japanese researchers succeeded where U.S. researchers failed. Via transplantation of "islet" cells from a living donor, they made a woman with Type 1 Diabetes (diabetic since birth) glucose tolerant! The catch? She'll have to take anti-rejection drugs, possibly for life. So far, all I've read about it is in articles in consumer publications like this one:

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050419-043008-9390r.htm

But (hint, vitualis), if any doctors out there have access to "The Lancet" (their online subscription), the jargon-ish and complete version of this story can be found here at:

http://www.thelancet.com

The article title is "Insulin independence after living-donor distal pancreatectomy and islet allotransplantation" in Volume 365 Issue 9468 Page 4999.

P.S. FWIW, both my birth parents had Type 2 (adult-onset) Diabetes. In theory, this puts me at a high risk of getting it myself. But, for better or worse, I inherited my maternal grandmother's genes. We're the only two people in our immediate family that have low blood pressure and low blood sugar levels. But, that has it's own cross to bear (sigh). My legs don't get all the blood flow they should. Granny was the same way, too. That makes standing or walking for long periods of time problematic ... and, where I work, I have to be on my feet on a concrete floor 8 hours a day. When I go to work, I walk through the door. When I leave work, I limp out (no kidding).

[garman]

Great, now more americans can continue to eat poorly now that diabetes has been cured. -garman

[AlecWest]

Great, now more americans can continue to eat poorly now that diabetes has been cured. -garman

Diet does matter but it's not the be-all end-all cause of Diabetes. The woman they cured was diabetic since birth. But (snicker), I suppose she could have eaten poorly in the womb.

[Kunta Kinte]

So she will take anti rejection drugs instead of insulin. Is this really progress?

[Ma_Jie]

Diet, for Adult-onset diabetes, is huge. That and exercise or you're gonna be in rough shape — it's that simple.

- MJ

[lumis]

Great, now more americans can continue to eat poorly now that diabetes has been cured. -garman

and if they come up with a cure for aids, she can continue having unprotected sex.. y'know since she was born with it too..

idiot.

[jackal70058]

I know a few people who would be happy to hear about this. Any progress in trying to cure the disease is always welcome.

[AlecWest]

So she will take anti rejection drugs instead of insulin. Is this really progress?

Hard to say, money-wise. But, taking a pill at regular intervals is probably more lifestyle-friendly than a regimen of constant testing and infrequent shots. This "cure" is just a bandaid cure, though. Since Type 1 diabetics are born with it, there must be a genetic trait involved. Until the trait is identified, the real cure will be elusive.

[zzyzzx]

So she will take anti rejection drugs instead of insulin. Is this really progress?

I was also thinking that taking anti-rejection drugs for life is also of doubious value. It's like substutiting one pill for another thna claiming it's a cure. Meanwhile it supresses ones immune system.

However, this "cure" might be a good first step for a real cure.

[AlecWest]

I was also thinking that taking anti-rejection drugs for life is also of doubious value.

True. But, if diabetics were given a preference (and if money wasn't an issue), I think they'd prefer a regimen of, say, taking one or two pills a day at regular intervals (ie., one at 10 AM, another at 6 PM) than having to "poke" themselves or urinate on strips to check glucose levels ... and follow it up with a shot if necessary. And, besides the "convenience" aspect, there's also the added benefit of being glucose tolerant ... that you can walk into a restaurant or grocery store and order/buy pretty much anything you want without worrying about how your body might react to it.

I think there are two unanswered questions to all this. First, while anti-rejection drugs are needed, will they be needed for life ... or just for a brief transition period? The Japanese attempt at this differed from the U.S. attempt in one fundamental way that relates to possible rejection (and it's good to remember that U.S. attempts failed). Japanese researchers did hyper-accurate blood matching between the recipient and donor. U.S. researchers were not that picky. So, it's possible that rejection factors may be transitionary only ... that after a while, the drugs will no longer be needed.

The second unanswered question is more practical ... namely "how much" it will cost? If the anti-rejection drugs cost more than blood-sugar testing and insulin shots, this new therapy may become a priveleged therapy for the rich.

[vitualis]

I don't have a personal subscription to the Lancet... And this is still too new to come out on Medline.

I have to agree with one of the readers up this post... Replacing insulin with immunosuppresants... it's not much of a cure.

The natural progression to this sort of therapy to to create new pancreatic islet cells from a patient's own stem cells --> no immunosuppresion needed. Then it will be a "real" cure.

Regards.

[BobV]

Diet, for Adult-onset diabetes, is huge. That and exercise or you're gonna be in rough shape — it's that simple.

- MJ

I think you need to get all the facts before running off at the mouth. I have Type 2 diabetes, only slightly overweight and very active. There is a BIG genetic factor you seemed to have ignored. Oh I know it's much simpler for you to think in simple terms but it's just not that simple of a problem.

[garman]

Great, now more americans can continue to eat poorly now that diabetes has been cured. -garman

and if they come up with a cure for aids, she can continue having unprotected sex.. y'know since she was born with it too..

idiot.

So your telling me that "most" people are born that way, I would look into the over sizing of americans (100,000,000 people 1/3 of americans) or people in industiralized countries and tell me that thier bloated size has nothing to do with diabetes, sorry if I hit a nerve with some people, but I truly think that poor diet, lack of excerise has a major connection with diabetesand other related illness. -garman
I maybe an "idiot" but I try and take care of myself, how about you?

[budz]

Ma_jie wrote

Diet, for Adult-onset diabetes, is huge. That and exercise or you're gonna be in rough shape — it's that simple.

It's not that simple as you say. I do NOT agree with your statement. I'm a type 2 diabetic that isn't or was overweight neither are my parents. We have diabetes because it's in our genetic makeup. It only takes one gene which is the junk one to get diabetes. Unfortunately for me diabetes runs in my family both maternal and paternal. It's not as easy as some of you have stated. Yes exercise and a change of diet is necessary to control blood sugar levels. But on the other hand too much exercise will cause too low blood sugar levels. I am a hypoglycemic which means I get low blood sugar therefore I have to eat 6 small meals a day. This isn't a simple task of battling diabetes it is a life long battle. I take no medications or insulin to control my diabetes which is a good thing but sometimes the body will give out no matter how much exercise one will do. I know someday I will probably be put on meds but for now I eat correctly and monitor my carb intake and I do exercise daily. I have to remember if I've had a workout that was intense then I know my body can tolerate a bit more of carbs. Everyone's metabolism is different. Eating in moderation is a key factor in any diet where your health is concerned. Therefore don't say it's simple when you have no idea what it is to be diabetic.

[vitualis]

There is a genetic component to type 2 diabetes mellitus (e.g., Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, Indians, Pacific Islanders, Chinese people) are at greater risk of developing diabetes all other things being equal.

For many people, diet and exercise could probably be enough to control their diabetes if they worked hard enough at it early in their disease. This is often not the case and perhaps it is unreasonable to expect people to be able to make the required lifestyle choices required to completely reverse the diabetes.

IMHO, the "genetic" argument is somewhat overblown. For the vast majority of people, type 2 DM is not biologically "inevitable".

Regards.

[budz]

vitualis wrote

There is a genetic component to type 2 diabetes mellitus (e.g., Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, Indians, Pacific Islanders, Chinese people) are at greater risk of developing diabetes all other things being equal.

I'll have to add to your list Japanese and Hawaiian people are also more prone in developing diabetes. Here in Hawaii we are # 1 in the nation with the most diabetics. My doc tells me 3/4's don't even know they have the disease until it's too late.

[Ma_Jie]

Hi budz.

I apologise. I definitely oversimplified and should have given more thought to my post and been more sensitive. And you're right: I don't have personal experience with it, but I do have two extended family members with it, and I've noticed one of them, who watches her diet and exercises regularly, tends to have fewer bad days, then my uncle who, sadly, has not made any dietary modifications or even tried exercising, and he's unfortunately getting worse.

But I am sorry. I should not have posted in the first place.

With my sincerest apologies,

- Ma Jie

[offline]

Great, now more americans can continue to eat poorly now that diabetes has been cured. -garman

and if they come up with a cure for aids, she can continue having unprotected sex.. y'know since she was born with it too..

idiot.

Now that is what I'd like to see. A cure for people like you lumis :P

[budz]

Ma_Jie wrote

Hi budz.

I apologise. I definitely oversimplified and should have given more thought to my post and been more sensitive. And you're right: I don't have personal experience with it, but I do have two extended family members with it, and I've noticed one of them, who watches her diet and exercises regularly, tends to have fewer bad days, then my uncle who, sadly, has not made any dietary modifications or even tried exercising, and he's unfortunately getting worse.

But I am sorry. I should not have posted in the first place.

With my sincerest apologies,

- Ma Jie

Hey! No problem I just wanted you to know that it isn't as simple as one may think. There was no need to apologize. It's always good to educate others who don't have diabetes.