New Research and Study for the Cure of Diabetes

As I’ve said all along, diabetes is a chronic disease that must be managed for the rest of one’s life. Till now, no one knows when the cure for diabetes may come, if it ever does. But every day, research proceeds, and it is realistic to expect that medical treatments will continue to improve. For now, good self-management can hold diabetes at bay for a long while.

According to Drum and Zierenberg in their book “The Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook,” in the United States alone, about $12 billion a year is being spent on diabetes research. The National Institutes of Health, the American Diabetes Association, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation are the major sources of funding for this research.

So, what are these new studies being undertaken?

1. On the Pharmacological Front-

There are promising new drugs being tested for the prevention or treatment of diabetic neuropathy. This includes advanced glycosylation and end-product inhibitors, and nerve growth factor. Alpha reductase inhibitors may prevent cataracts, and lipoic acid is being tested to see if it can prevent macular degeneration. Leptin, discovered in 1995 as a hormone linked to weight gain, is among the substances being tested as a weight-loss drug in humans.

2. All over the world, researchers are scrutinizing every conceivable aspect of diabetes treatment.

a. An implantable insulin pump, developed by Medical Research Group LLC and already approved in the European community, is currently in the investigational stage at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
b. Scientists are looking at particular combinations of stress reduction techniques, nutritional strategies, and exercises. Transplants of real and artificial body parts are under way.
c. Much research is going on at the cellular and molecular levels, quantifying the way in which various chemicals interact in the bodies of people with diabetes. According to an article in the May 7, 1999, Los Angeles Times, researchers have isolated a molecule from a fungus that controls blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. This molecule may be taken by mouth, raising the possibility of its having a similar effect in human beings, acting as a possible “insulin equivalent’ that could replace injected insulin.

3. Preventing Diabetes

A great deal of current research focuses on identifying people with type 2 diabetes at an earlier stage of their disease, or even before diabetes develops.

a. Impaired Glucose tolerance has been established as an early indicator of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems.
b. Prevention and healthy lifestyles among parents may be the best strategy for limiting the rate of Type 2 diabetes among children, too.
c. At the University of Calgary, in Alberta, a vaccine that prevents Type 1 diabetes with only one injection is currently being tested. An oral form of insulin is now being used in trials to see if it can prevent Type 1 diabetes. Scientists are examining the possibility that the presence of adequate levels of a simple B vitamin, niacin or nicotinamide, in residual cells helps prevent diabetes.
d. Genetic scientists are working to find the genes that identify a person likely to have Type 2 diabetes. The genetic connection has been established, in that a history of first-degree relatives with Type 2 diabetes makes a diagnosis more likely within the family. Efforts are being made to modify the inherited gene and the chromosome that carry Type 2 diabetes. When this gene or set of genes are identified, it may be possible for all people to be reoutinely tested for diabetes. If the testing is done on a large scale and followed by preventive measures, diabetes could be kept from developing in people who are predisposed to have it.
e. It is theoretically possible to identify a gene that protects against diabetes and insert that gene into a living person such as a newborn baby.
f. It is also theoretically possible, with the aid of genetic modifications, to produce insulin in other areas of the body.

4. Science and Technology

a. On the surgical front, transplants of the pancreas, the pancreas and kidneys, and the islet of Langerhans have met with some success for the past two decades. Several thousand of these implants have been done, almost all on people with Type 1 diabetes, but only in a research setting. About one in four of these transplants fails. At the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, a protocol for transplanting islet cells has allowed more than 80 percent of patients to remain insulin free after one year.
b. Engineers are envisioning an artificial pancreas that allow several months’ supply to be implanted in the body. Insulin pumps may be the first step toward the development of a working artificial pancreas. A glucose sensor that operates in tandem with the pump, which has already been approved for limited use, could be a second step. An artificial pancreas would mimic the normal functioning of the human pancreas, continuously monitoring blood glucose levels and releasing insulin as needed to keep blood sugar at a desirable level. A large machine called a Biostator can accomplish this already.
c. A surgically implanted gastric electrical stimulation device called Enterra Therapy was recently approved by the FDA and shows promise for people with gastroparesis, a form of nerve damage that affects an estimated 20 to 50 percent of people with diabetes. This device uses painless electric shocks to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is damaged by high levels of glucose. Early studies have shown some improvement in symptoms and greater glucose after one year in many research subjects.
d. Infrared light beams, lasers, radio frequencies, and skin patches are now being used to develop the first noninvasive home blood testing equipment. Two companies are working on devices that measure glucose in the interstitial fluid by shining light onto the skin. One company is developing a tattoo of fluorescent molecules that glow brightly when blood sugars are low and fade when blood sugars are too high. Another company is developing an implant that can be placed in contact lens or in the lower eyelid and that changes color when it meets the glucose in human tears.
e. Available computer software programs already contain glucose plotters, diet analyzers, and insulin therapy analyzers.

5. Best Response

Until there’s a cure, good self-management is the best response to diabetes. Find-and work with-good doctors and a good health care team. These are your first line of defense.. Educate yourself. Remain physically active. Eat regular, well-balance meals that are appropriate for you.


(Source: Drum, David and Zierenberg, Terry. The Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2006.)