Four Genuine, Potential Diabetes Cures
by Robert L Brown
For several decades now, much research has been made on a disease that has debilitated many - diabetes. Research on type 1 and type 2 diabetes has produced amazing and genuine progress in terms of a real understanding of the disease as well as advancements on how it is treated.
However, much of this new knowledge is fairly unknown to most people. And while there currently is no way to fully cure diabetes, several methods of treatment have proved successful in controlling and treating both types. Type 1 diabetes researchers have made a number of significant advancements with several potential cures being successfully used to stop the progression of the disease.
For type 1 diabetes patients, a pancreatic transplant can free one of the need for insulin injections that he used to routinely have to put up with. In most cases, though, the patient still needs to take immunosuppressive medications.
Another potential cure one can consider is the transplant of stem cells or of exogenous beta cells. The use of stem cells has indicated positive results for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. However, for these treatment methods, one still has to contend with the long term use of immunosuppressive medicines. This is because the immune system has the tendency to attack these transplanted cells.
Then, there is also the use of nanotechnology. With this new innovation, microscopic sensors are implanted into the body. These sensors routinely monitor the patient's blood sugar levels and can inject insulin into the blood stream to control diabetes. A patient can eventually be free from the disease without having to resort to an operation or having to use long term medication. However, though nanotechnology is really a leap forward in terms of treating diabetes, much of it remains in the theoretical aspect. Scientists still have to make more research on the technology.
Lastly, there is the amazing possibility of reversing type 1 diabetes through the use of anti-CD3 antibodies and pro-insulin peptides. When used together, these therapeutic medications have been proven effective in reversing type 1 diabetes in animal tests. The reversals are long lasting - with some lasting for over a year! Clinical trials for humans are the next step.
What makes this last treatment the most promising as a potential diabetes cure is that it teaches the body's immune system to tolerate beta cells in the pancreas rather than attacking them.
Much research still needs to be done in the area of diabetes cures. However, at the rate treatments are currently progressing, it seems likely that a cure for diabetes is not so far down the road.
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