Research gettitng closer to a cure for diabetes

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 15 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Two diabetes sufferers from Northern Ireland travel regularly to Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, USA, in a desperate hope of a cure.

Since Dr Denise Faustman published a paper last November on curing diabetes in mice, diabetes sufferers have been bombarding her office begging for help.

'I get 1,400 e-mails a week,' she said.

'It's unbelievable and I have hired a person half-time just to answer the e-mails and the phone.'

She said the pair of Ulster patients say that, no matter what they hear about the hurdles facing scientists, they have no choice but to remain hopeful.

'They told me they don't care how much it costs or what time of the week or day it is.

'Whatever happens, they will be there at the time and be ready to give a tube of blood hoping they will be one of the lucky ones who get to go on the clinical trial,' Dr Faustman said.

She said there was no guarantees they would be chosen for the intense research project, which will open up a new chapter in diabetes knowledge.

In an amazing scientific breakthrough, Dr Faustman harnessed newly-discovered cells from an unexpected source - the spleen - to cure juvenile diabetes in mice.

In type one diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which is needed to convert sugar into fuel and is normally produced in the pancreas in cells called islet cells.

In people with type one diabetes, the islet cells are destroyed by the body's own misguided immune cells and sugar builds up dangerously in the blood.

The Massachusetts General Hospital scientist injected diabetic mice with the spleen cells.

The cells migrated to their pancreases, prompting the damaged organs to regenerate into healthy, insulin-making organs, ending their diabetes.

Having learned how to regrow an adult organ, Dr Faustman said the exciting new development could offer a permanent cure of diabetes type one if it proves successful in humans.

The hospital's team has not yet raised enough money to proceed with a 40-person clinical trial, which would cost about $10 million.

Dr Faustman said the trials were being hampered by a general disinterest by the drug industry.

'Part of the problem is that the treatment is very cheap and could even be bought over the counter in years to come. Companies are very slow to come forward because a diabetes drug care is a very lucrative industry.'

From:
http://www.diabetesnews.com

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