I’m sure lots of you have read similar article about these 15 patients in Brazil who were able to discontinue insulin after stem cell therapy. Recently my blood test showed significant c-peptide so my endo put me on glymepiride. Over the last 2 weeks, it has lowered my BG an average of 10mg/dL.
Anyone know how I can find my way into participating in a study like this? Who knows when all my beta cells would burn out. I hope this is an indication of a real cure for lots of type 1s out there before it becomes too late.
Last summer I took an 8 day treatment with an experimental drug that is being developed by a company called Tolerrx . The drug is supposed to stop the autoimmune problem that is troubling us, and it seems to work well in my case. I was diagnosed with LADA about a year ago at age 55 and am doing much better now that I was then. I don’t think this drug can turn back the clock to before you were diagnosed but some regeneration seems to be possible as long as you have enough beta cells left to work with. Both Tolerrx and another company called Macrogenics are developing similar drugs, and I think both are still enrolling volunteers. The web sites of both companies will tell you the criteria for joining the studies and what cities the studies are going on in. I would advise anybody who can qualify for either company’s study to do whatever they can, even if it means driving a long distance, to get some of this drug as soon as possible. I think that in just a few years, when both of these drugs have been approved, everybody who is newly diagnosed with type one will try to preserve what beta cell function they can. There are also at least two drugs being developed in Europe that are said to work, DiaPep277 and Diamyd. If either of these starts phase III trials in this country they would be another possibility. Hope this helps.
