Protein Byproduct Stops Diabetes in Its Tracks
Nov. 26, 2001 -- In the last few years, science has made some tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. And now, researchers have shown that an injection of a specific protein can stop this type of insulin-requiring diabetes in its tracks.
Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile-onset diabetes, is caused by destruction of cells in the pancreas that produce and release insulin. Insulin is the hormone that is responsible for keeping blood sugar levels from getting too high.
In people with type 1 diabetes, insulin-producing cells are killed by the immune system for an unknown reason. Insulin levels get progressively lower as the blood sugar rises, and diabetes develops. At that point, people with type 1 diabetes have to start taking insulin injections to survive.
Researchers from Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School wanted to see if they could reverse or stop this process. They used a substance called DiaPep277, which has been shown to calm the immune systems in mice prone to developing diabetes. This injection was able to save some of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreases of the mice.
In the current study, published last week in The Lancet, the researchers looked at 31 people who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within the last six months. They were all early enough in the disease process that they were still producing some insulin.
Half of the participants were given DiaPep277 shots and the other half placebo injections. Three shots were given -- at the beginning of the study and again one month and six months later.
People who received DiaPep277 were able to maintain their level of insulin production that they had at the beginning of the study. However, those that received the placebo shots continued to see a fall in their insulin production.
In addition, 10 months after the beginning of the study, the diabetics that received the DiaPep277 injections required less insulin therapy than those that received placebo.
Co-author Dana Elias, PhD, says the research shows it's possible to alter the immune system and prevent or stop it from attacking the insulin-producing cells.
DiaPep277 holds the promise of becoming a breakthrough treatment for those already with type 1 diabetes and may perhaps be able to prevent the development of diabetes in people who are at high risk for the disease, she says in a news release.
"If we reach patients early, we may be able to improve the quality of their lives by significantly reducing their dependence on insulin. We may also halt or delay the development of complications and, possibly, extend patients' lives," says Elias.