Is a cure for diabetes mellitus now a reality?
Diabetes is a metabolic disease that affects over 17 million people in the United States alone. The condition creates complications that range from blindness to kidney failure and cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Researchers, scammers, holistic medicine physicians and well meaning doctors have all claimed to find a cure for diabetes at one time or another. The reality is that with good lifestyle choices, nutritional intake and exercise most people who experience pre-diabetic symptoms may go through the rest of their lives without ever suffering diabetes. However, many who have Type 2 diabetes are not able to make the necessary changes and choices that negate their life-long poor choices.
Those who suffer from Type 1 diabetes experience the condition because the cells that produce insulin have completely shut down. Some theorize that the lace of insulin production is a result of an immune response in the body to an environmental trigger, such as a toxin or virus. However, no definitive cause for Type-1 diabetes has been identified.
Finding a cure for diabetes requires that the cure also addresses the reason behind the diabetes. So, the jury is now out on whether some of the promising research has indeed found a cure. A cure would mean less of a financial burden on both families and insurance companies as well as better health for millions of Americans and people around the world.
Sixty five percent of people with Type 2 diabetes do not understand their blood test readings and do not know what having their blood sugar under control really means to their long-term health. For some, they believe that once their sugar is ‘under control’ they have achieved a cure and no longer require medication, lifestyle changes, or changes to their nutritional intake.
These assumptions are absolutely not true and result in people who suffer from long-term affect that negatively impact their lives for years. It is perfectly reasonable to assume that a person who has their blood sugar at normal levels one day can find their sugar level too high the next.
It is also perfectly reasonable for an individual with Type 2 diabetes to eliminate partially hydrogenated oils and trans-fats from the diet and replace them with natural oils, add vitamin C and a health diet to find that their need for medication is reduced significantly or totally eliminated after 3 months to a year.
Having blood sugar control is a daily struggle that involves insulin, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. Diabetics have two choices – cure or better control. At this time there are several avenues being pursued for cure for diabetes mellitus now a reality:
Pancreatic transplantation
Islet cell transplantation
Artificial pancreas
Genetic manipulation
Each has its own challenges, including prevention of immune rejection. But only one has had significant results in initial trials of Diabetics with type 1 diabetes. (1,2)
To date there have been seven out of seven successful islet cell transplantations done that have been producing insulin for greater than 1 year. And to date this has been nothing short of a miracle. This new procedure was designed by Dr. James Shapiro at the University of Alberta and is known as the Edmonton procedure. It is a non-steroid combination of three drugs to prevent rejection of the transplanted cells – which also appears to prevent the autoimmune diabetes from returning.
Seven patients were surgically implanted with the islet cells and given the combination of medications and seven have remained successfully producing insulin with indication that the original autoimmune problem with the pancreas is returning.
Dr. Ray Rajotte, a veteran islet cell transplant research member, and his team are teaching the Edmonton procedure around the world. Clinical trials are beginning in the US and Europe. If you are interested in the clinical trials being planned in the U.S. contact the Immune Tolerance Network through their website (immunetolerance.org). A cure for diabetes mellitus now a reality appears to be just around the corner for type 1 diabetics.
References
(1) National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Pancreatic Islet Transplantation
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/pancreaticislet/
(2)University of IL at Chicago: Promising Advances in Islet Cell Transplants for Diabetes
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609141225.htm
Recent Comments