True enough. LOL
I’ve heard of this too. Did I read somewhere that islet cells can only be used in the Newly Diagnosed?
Can anyone back me up on this?
Sometimes I get my memories mixed up.
Right now there are so many promising clinical trials I wouldn’t mind signing up for.
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Dr. Trucco’s Microsphere based dendritic cell vaccine. This supposedly reverses new onset diabetes but in the clinical trials it is being tested on individuals who’ve had T1 for upwards of 5 years.
http://www.newsmax.com/health/experiment_type_1_diabete/2009/06/30/230374.html
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT00445913 -
Diamyd’s Vaccine to stop the Autoimmune attack (in phase 3 trials currently) and then something like Exsulin to regenerate the Beta cells (http://www.exsulin.com/regeneration.html)
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I don’t believe embryonic stem cells will be the answer to curing diabetes because of the potential tumor causing abilities of those stem cells. Now Mesenchymal cells (which are derived from a person’s own or a donor’s blood marrow and aren’t rejected by anyone’s body) show a great deal of promise for a whole bunch of autoimmune conditions already. The phase II clinical trials for T1 are sponsored by JDRF (http://www.osiristx.com/clinical_trials_prochymal_t1d.php)
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There’s another Phase II JDRF sponsored trial for beta cell regeneration by a company called Transition therapeutics (http://www.transitiontherapeutics.com/technology/diabetes.php)
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Oh and another Phase II (JDRF sponsored again) trial aimed at reversing long term T1 by Bayhill Therapeutics seems very promising (http://www.bayhilltherapeutics.com/T1D.html)
Generally, I prefer at looking for cures that have already been tested on mice, passed the safety tests in humans and have shown good results in phase I/II clinical trials. Because these are ones likely to make it to the market within the next 4-5 years.
What I’ve read about smart insulin sounds very encouraging. Not that I fully understood what I read, but it seemed that researchers were pretty far along in its development. Hard not to get our hopes up. How wonderful your endo is a scientific advisor. Pass on anything you hear!
Not to take anything away from all these trials, but I’ve been hearing that we will have the cure in 5 years since I was first diagnosed. In other words I’ll believe it only when I am cured; until then there is no cure and no potential for a cure. I’m purposefully being facetious here.
lol, I’ve been hearing the same dang thing since 1970. I’ll believe it when I stop buying insulin. It may indeed happen some day, and I hope it will, but it does not even enter into my mind when I think about the future
So I’m a late comer to hearing this, only since 79’. “we are only 5 years from a cure.” heard it the day I was dxd. LOL
Amen, you two!
Me too, I never believed in the 5 year thing ever. I was pretty sure diabetes would somehow be prevented in the future, but never cured. But autoimmunity research is a very hot field right now and most of the companies working on T1 cures are using the same therapies against other autoimmune conditions.
People may not care for us T1s because we live normally with our condition because we take insulin (blech), but when you include Multiple Scelerosis, Graves, Lupus, Psoriasis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and a dozen other condtions all with the same underlying problem being researched…a breakthrough is likely than not.
Well, my docs weren’t as optimistic, I guess. They told me ten years in 1998… Now they’re saying ten years in 2009.
Can you imagine? They shouldn’t have said anything. As 2008 was coming 'round the corner, despite myself, I was looking forward to the almightly CURE. And it didn’t come.
Stupid hopes.
Well, think about it this way, when in the last 5-10 years did any newly diagnosed T1 have any sort of opportunity to delay/stop the onset of his/her condition?
Now atleast 3 drugs are in the final stages of clinical trials for newly diagnosed T1s (Diamyd, Teplizumab and Otelixizumab), Thousands of newly diagnosed are already enrolled in these trials worldwide. Hey, it’s a start!
I am in a study for newly diagnosed Type 1’s using adult bone marrow stem cells. It is hard to tell if I am getting the real thing or the placebo as I may be having lows due to the honeymoon phase. However, since the infusions, I have not used insulin for breakfast or lunch, and only use a small amount for dinner. I use my regular amount of Lantus.
Embryonic stem cells are an unlikely cure because they can not be controlled. They do not hone in on a specific areas like adult stem cells.
Ive heard that, before Obama lifted the ban, Scientists were actually able to artificially create and imitate embryonic stem cells which were easier to manipulate… however, now that the ban is lifted, I doubt much time will be dedicated to that area.
It’s awesome that you were able to get on the clinical trial!
I don’t know what you mean by “Embryonic stem cells are an unlikely cure because they can not be controlled” - but then, I’m not a scientist and wouldn’t know. I do know that it’s a nascent field of research and there is a lot of potential there. There are so many scientists working on this now that it’s unlkely that earlier attempts have been abandoned or anything just because the ban has been lifted. That’s not how science works, as far as I know.
I still am hoping for a cure sometime not too far in the future.
Well T1s only use a quarter of the Insulin market. And with the advent of generic insulin, companies like Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi Aventis need to look for other ways to recapture their lost market. Eli Lilly has a huge stake in Teplizumab (a drug that delays/stops the onset of newly diagnosed T1s) and Glaxosmithkline has a $760 million development pact with TolerX (yet another drug for newly diagnosed T1s). And if we’re such a golden egg laying goose why did Cozmo (one of the top pump suppliers) go out of business? and Why did Eli Lilly report that their sales of insulin have dropped from 85% in 1996 to 43% in 2006?
I don’t understand how there could be a cure for type 1 diabetes when they don’t even understand the disease. I would put the research money into understanding the progression of type 1 diabetes and its’ root cause. There’s not going to be a “miracle” drug.
What they seem to be working on now is to re-establish output of insulin from the pancreas. But as you say Michelle they aren’t entirely sure of the cause. What this probably means is that some of the “cured” will relapse, or have other side effects.
What they seem to be doing now is like if you can’t get your car to run because you are out of gas(body isn’t producing insulin). They replace the gas tank(restarting or redeveloping the pancreas). But forget that you have a defect in the car that punctures the tank at random moments(root cause not completely understood). You can replace the tank as it punctures so why worry about the defect. This way they are still selling the cure multiple times. They win and we win; kind of.
I don’t think they need to know what causes it to cure it as long as they know what’s wrong. Basically it’s like Mark said, it doesn’t matter what caused your tank to leak if you can fix the tank.
Alternatively I see Michelle’s point because without knowing what causes it how can they know that we won’t relapse eventually after the cure. For example, if it is a defective gene or an extra DNA strand (like they have found as the potential cause for autism), or a lack of a specific DNA strand then the cure could be nullified by our own bodies in the same way our once healthy, working pancreas was attacked the first time.
So to use the car analogy, you can change the tank and fix the problem but if the cause of the problem was in the same garage that person will keep parking in eventually the new tank will go bust again.
Or maybe I should start reading people’s posts more carefully before I post something like I did above . . .oops.
If we can get 1 or 2 or even 5 years out of each fix, that beats constant pumping or shots. I would not be against some form of testing bg or A1c or something to monitor when you have to be “cured” again. It still beats what we have now. And maybe they then could look at what the root cause is and do the right fix for that.
If there was a shot I could take annually that hurt like you know what, but I didn’t have to wear a pump or check my bg more than twice a week. I would stand in line for days to get it. I bet so would dozens of others. At that point it isn’t a cure as such, but progress. Maybe what they are working on now won’t be a cure; just progress.
Mark, I agree. Even 1-5 yeard off would be enough for me. Even maybe just a few months off. Anything to give my tired mind a break.
The cure is moments away.