Apparenty, according to the posted report below. Beta cells are getting infected and that is why the immune system is attacking them.
Does this mean a vaccine is on the way?
I think it’s been accepted for a while that t1 is triggered by a virus – but the good news I think here is that the type of virus seems to be narrowed down…Granted, according to reports there are over a hundred strains of the virus, so there is loads more narrowing to go! But then yes, it seems like a vaccine is possible. Here (in UK) on the news, 20 years is quoted…
Too late for us, alas. But it was also be unsettling if a vaccine were available tomorrow. The sudden shift of attention away from cures and better technology wouldn’t do our children any good. Oh dear. Sorry to sound a little down in the face of what is basically great news!
Carl:
I beleive that a virus is the most logical trigger. In fact as a person who has been associated with a couple of studies (as a participant) I just feel it is absolutely the correct cause. I also am very hopeful for an immunization some day. I know for my self, I was given a Glucose tolerance test about a month before I was DX. I passed with flying colors then 30 days later i was so sick I could barely move. Therefore the virus explanation makes sense to me.
I urge you to help the cause and allow your child r to join diabetic studies. We only have one good chance to whip this nasty disease. If your son or daughter is eligible for a study help them join. It gives the young person a sense that they are contributing and it is good for other children who do not yet have the disease.
Rick
I was told there was a genetic predisposition to Type 1, that was effected by environmental “triggers,” such as the enteroviruses. Was told you do not have to catch the enterovirus, just be “exposed” to it. The body’s T’Cells come out to defend against infection; then turn on the beta cells of the pancreas, which looks like one of the enteroviruses in particular (for some reason, my brain is mush and I cannot think of it). The activated T-cells go on to “defend” against infection by destroying the beta cells of the pancreas. Oversimplification, but that is what an endo at diagnosis told us. When the enteros are going around in the schools, they would have sixteen cases on their ward, rather than one or two the rest of the year. This has been known, but not proven, for years. Again, it is EXPOSURE to the enterovirus, not that you had to be infected with the enterovirus. Hence, no child is safe.
Ah, remembered the name of the offending enterovirus. It is the “coxacie” virus.
Didn’t the coxacie virus have something to do with possible early exposure to cow’s milk? I thought I had read that some where. It does make sense that it is a virus triggering the autoimmune response. I remember when my son was diagnosed one of the first things they asked us was if he had been sick, like with an infection, before bringing him in. When I look back at videos and see how at one point he seemed happy and healthy and in a matter of a couple weeks he looked so ill. We can almost pin down when it seemed to start and he was running a slight fever at that time and just got worse after that. The idea of a vaccine is great for future generations, just wondering how this information will help those already affected. And how will this be accepted by those who believe there is a link between vaccines and autism, or even that vaccines may be triggering Type 1 diabetes?