Breakthrough in T1 Diabetes Treatment

[Fidel_Castronaut]

http://www.nature.com/news/stem-cell-suc...NatureNews

Utterly amazing, and could potentially see Beta cells forming new islets as a common occurrence if new trials in primates are successful.

I'm a T1 diabetic and I can tell you, whilst much more manageable than even 20 years ago, it's still a constant thought in your mind of 'what ifs', such as what if I accidentally inject too much and don't have some glucose on me? Or what If I'm travelling somewhere and someone steals my insulin, especially in a foreign country where I don't know the health system? Or what if my insulin has been activated for too long and no longer works? What if my glucose monitor runs out of battery and I don't know what my blood sugar levels are?

Perhaps a viable treatment could be around within the next decade? Who knows, but very promising research none the less.

[DramaQueen]

Yeah science

[Endo]

The next challenge is to work out how to shield these β-cells from the body’s immune response.

AKA: Curing Diabetes. The technique in this article will certainly repair the damage from Diabetes, but unless you deal with the root cause of Diabetes, an immune response that recognizes the pancreas as an enemy, your new pancreas isn't going to last very long.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Indeed, hence the need for imunno-suppressants.

But as the article says, I'd much prefer to take a few pills than to inject several times a day.

[Sejanus]

[Aractus]

I'm a T1 diabetic and I can tell you, whilst much more manageable than even 20 years ago, it's still a constant thought in your mind of 'what ifs', such as what if I accidentally inject too much and don't have some glucose on me? Or what If I'm travelling somewhere and someone steals my insulin, especially in a foreign country where I don't know the health system? Or what if my insulin has been activated for too long and no longer works? What if my glucose monitor runs out of battery and I don't know what my blood sugar levels are?

Perhaps a viable treatment could be around within the next decade? Who knows, but very promising research none the less.

Insulin is just the hormone, not the enzyme associated with lowering blood glucose.

If you don't have enough glucose your body will just make it - i.e. by breaking down fatty lipids and metabolising into glucose, or using its other stores.

If your glucose levels remain too high you'll piss glucose - which is why physicians used to have to taste your urine to diagnose you (now there's a machine that does it - damn computers taking jobs from the workers!)

[The Valkyrie]

[Minimalist]

which is why physicians used to have to taste your urine to diagnose you

I can see why they busted their butts to find another method of testing.

[Aractus]

Yep Min. Actually the computers work better because they can detect any glucose present, even if you can't taste the difference, thus in reality it means patients are diagnosed earlier.

Still LOL at the primitive sounding method!

[Aractus]

Or you could just say that the lazy bastards want to do less work.