Preventative diabetes breakthrough

As diabetes becomes a global problem, buoyed by increasing rates of obesity and the increasing prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle, the onus for treatment seems to shift away from the most severe sufferers: type 1 diabetics. However, a new study conducted by experts at the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbour, may have discovered a crucial element in the mystery surrounding type 1.
The team of scientists, headed by a Dr. Serreze, may have found a way to fix diabetes-causing cells in laboratory mice at a very early stage. The trials could possibly lead to a method of preventing the disease before it has the slightest chance to develop.
Type 1 currently affects an estimated 10% of diabetes sufferers, and is generally treated with a strict regime of insulin. Long-term effects of type 1 can be extremely severe, and include heart disease, stroke, blindness and organ damage.
The 10-year research program conducted at the Jackson Laboratory is set to continue for a guaranteed four further years due to a boost of over a million dollars from a government grant. The study is based around the antigen-presenting cells that lead the body’s white blood cells. It is when these malfunction that insulin-producing islet cells are destroyed, causing diabetes.