Recently there has seen a swell of interest surrounding news that a cure for type 1 might be on the horizon.
The interest has been sparked by the news that University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that mice that produced no insulin did not experience high blood sugars if their glucagon receptors were blocked. Glucagon being the hormone which, in non-diabetic individuals, works in tandem with insulin to control blood sugar levels.
Glucagon could become insulin replacement for type 1 diabetes treatment
The researchers were studying the effects of leptin on mice when they noticed the effect of suppressing the effect of glucagon.
Could taking leptin plus insulin help type 1 diabetics better control blood glucose
In a similar vein, The University of Colorado has been researching whether Januvia, a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes, could be employed to improve diabetes control in type 1 diabetes. The common link here is that Januvia is a drug which helps to suppress the release of glucagon. The study showed that human trial participants were able to reduce their HbA1c and were also able to reduce their insulin dosage by almost 10 per cent.
Study looks at type 2 diabetes drug that could help those with type 1 diabetes
So how close are we to a cure?
Januvia could be a start. The question with Januvia could be down to whether the benefits of Januvia outweigh any side effects it may bring.
Being one of those with Type 1, I’m not going to let myself get too excited but I would be very interested to see further trials into the effects of suppressing glucagon.
For more detail on the recent story, see the news on The University of Texas’s own website.
Results of the study are set to appear in the February issue of the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes journal.
