T1 CURE...????? really

[Paul J]

Call me a cynic, but if the drugs companies are earning so much money from diabetic medications, what incentive is there for them to find a cure ,or fund research for a cure,
Surly its not in the interests of the share holders, or the stock exchange!

 

[Robinredbreast]

For me I am sure that one day there will be a cure. There have been cures for other medical conditions in the past, so there are top people out there researching, researching and still researching and testing. Wouldn't you, as a research scientist, want to be he actual one, or part of the team that find the cure or finds a less intrusive way of managing Type 1, I'm sure the majority would, surely an eureka moment .
Best wishes RRB

 

[BigRedSwitch]

Two things:

1) the statement above is correct. We are cash-cows to drug companies. Why would they cut of a guaranteed multi billion pound revenue stream to cure an illness that a small monitory can live perfectly reasonable lives with? That's not cynicism - that's just seeing the world of business for what it is. The drug companies don't see us as precious little individual rainbows, they see us as numbers on a statistics chart and money in their bank accounts. Make peace with it.

2) there won't be a cure because of what has happened to type 1 diabetics internally. We've LOST the part of us that makes insulin, and there is no way to regenerate that. We could have them transplanted, sure - but then we'd need to take anti rejection drugs which are worse than insulin by quite some margin. They could maybe engineer new islets from stem cells, but that would be a lengthy and costly process, so would be very unlikely available to a vast majority of us. We also don't really know whether getting new islets would 'fix' us - what if the autoimmunity which caused us to be type 1 in the first place is a fault which never goes away, and we'd just end up killing the new islets? There's no way to judge this, as anyone who has had a pancreas transplant is on anti rejection drugs to suppress their immune system anyway, so until someone makes islets from stem cells, we wouldn't even know if that would even work!

The end for type 1 diabetes will come from a vaccine. That means that if you're type 1 and you're reading this, you're going to be type 1 for the rest of your life. That includes me (38 years type 1 - diagnosed aged 3), and my son (5 - diagnosed by me at 20 months).

Would I sooner not be diabetic? Sure. Do I let it rule my life? No way. I keep telling my boy we're 'bionic, like iron-man', and that's the outlook everyone with type 1 should have. Embrace the thing you hate - it'll inly get the better of you if you let it. Always fight to have a normal life. If you're not well, complain to your doctor. If they don't help you, find another doctor. You're all in charge of your own destiny, so don't endure other people's failings.

And please, please, please don't pin any real degree of hope on a cure. You've got more chance of winning the lottery.

Twice.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I don't think they can cure either...
To cure a T1 they would have to check out something... May be even the fluid in mum's womb's. Could be just a blood test, etc but would the hospitals all be charged with doing that... No.. And then it would be reliant upon a vaccine as our genes are already set from the moment of conception so to speak.

There is more money to be made in mass MDI regimes/ pumps and injecting rather than a dip in mum's womb, find the cause and give her a jab...or do a blood test and give a vaccine... Or even mass vaccination to all new babies.

As for curing when you have started injections.. Not a hope. It has to be found pre birth to me but until studies like this are done then I hold out no hope..

Is it due to pharmaceutical companies.. Yes, and also all the others involved like NICE etc that have interests in all these companies....

 

[yingtong]

I don't believe there will ever be a cure,but I do believe that there will one day be a very much better means of treating the disease.i think it will probably come through altering genetics of diabetics.i don't think I will see it in my lifetime.i believe that medical science is moving at quite a pace that it will happen in the future,at least I certainly hope so!

 

[Mike d]

I would not bet on it. The attention paid to this now (at least down my way) has reached unheard of proportions such is the explosion in diagnoses. But I agree that better treatment will be the first hurdle that is jumped.

There's that delicate balance between profits for drug companies versus health costs versus public anger, irrespective of what blame might or might not be apportioned to those wearing the condition ... thru their own fault or otherwise.

If the numbers keep increasing exponentially (as they are) then WATCH out

 

[azure]

I hold out hope there will be a cure. Not because I'm deluded, but because I can see a variety of possible avenues.

There was that recent study that identified the part of the T cells that attacks the islets,so that has potential if we could amend or turn off that response. Also, another animal study showed that other cells in the pancreas can take over the production of insulin. If that could be replicated and encouraged in humans then that'd be amazing.

Plus of course there are various artificial/bio-engineered pancreas ideas.

I agree that many drug companies seem to be concentrating on money-making things like 'new improved' insulins and endless varieties of blood testing strips because that makes them money, but I do think there's a big push fior a cure from other places. I wish more money was invested though.

So - not holding my breath, but optimistic long term : )

 

[BigRedSwitch]

Another way to look at it - could they find a cure for a missing organ? Nope - and the situation with being type 1 is analogous.

I do think they will develop a vaccine, though - there's a lot of chat about how the autoimmune response which causes the condition could be triggered by some kind of viral infection. That being the case, the drug companies produce a vaccine which everyone has to take just after birth (almost like MMR), and suddenly their revenue stream from diabetes is covered due to the fact that EVERYONE takes it (and type 1 diabetics are actually a very small percentage of the population - around 280,000 in the UK for example).

But yes - once the moment arrives that you need your first injection, it's game over. You're type 1 diabetic for good.

 

[Robinredbreast]

I don't believe there will ever be a cure,but I do believe that there will one day be a very much better means of treating the disease.i think it will probably come through altering genetics of diabetics.i don't think I will see it in my lifetime.i believe that medical science is moving at quite a pace that it will happen in the future,at least I certainly hope so!

I agree with you yingtong, there is ALWAYS hope and I don't want to be negative in ' a solution' to Type 1. I have been there myself, as have so many others and seeing a very young much loved family member who so nearly lost their life because of being diagnosed with type 1, makes me more determined, I won't and I hope I will never give up on that 'EUREKA' moment, maybe not in my lifetime, but someday, someday. Just look at the all the scientific technical developments in the past 50 + years since I've been born. Back then, I doubt whether I would of been able to have my now teenage daughter in my 40's safety. HOPE for me

RRB

 

[Robinredbreast]

Two things:

1) the statement above is correct. We are cash-cows to drug companies. Why would they cut of a guaranteed multi billion pound revenue stream to cure an illness that a small monitory can live perfectly reasonable lives with? That's not cynicism - that's just seeing the world of business for what it is. The drug companies don't see us as precious little individual rainbows, they see us as numbers on a statistics chart and money in their bank accounts. Make peace with it.

2) there won't be a cure because of what has happened to type 1 diabetics internally. We've LOST the part of us that makes insulin, and there is no way to regenerate that. We could have them transplanted, sure - but then we'd need to take anti rejection drugs which are worse than insulin by quite some margin. They could maybe engineer new islets from stem cells, but that would be a lengthy and costly process, so would be very unlikely available to a vast majority of us. We also don't really know whether getting new islets would 'fix' us - what if the autoimmunity which caused us to be type 1 in the first place is a fault which never goes away, and we'd just end up killing the new islets? There's no way to judge this, as anyone who has had a pancreas transplant is on anti rejection drugs to suppress their immune system anyway, so until someone makes islets from stem cells, we wouldn't even know if that would even work!

The end for type 1 diabetes will come from a vaccine. That means that if you're type 1 and you're reading this, you're going to be type 1 for the rest of your life. That includes me (38 years type 1 - diagnosed aged 3), and my son (5 - diagnosed by me at 20 months).

Would I sooner not be diabetic? Sure. Do I let it rule my life? No way. I keep telling my boy we're 'bionic, like iron-man', and that's the outlook everyone with type 1 should have. Embrace the thing you hate - it'll inly get the better of you if you let it. Always fight to have a normal life. If you're not well, complain to your doctor. If they don't help you, find another doctor. You're all in charge of your own destiny, so don't endure other people's failings.

And please, please, please don't pin any real degree of hope on a cure. You've got more chance of winning the lottery.

Twice.

I don't do the lottery, for some type 1's ( regarding this thread) it's what keeps them going. We've seen enough of the younger members who cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Who really knows what the future may hold.It's all blame and shame, I try to think more on the positive side.
RRB

 

[pinewood]

Even if there won't be a cure in our lifetimes so much more could be done to help us manage our disease more easily, but obviously there is little incentive for the pharma companies to do so if what's available already is making them big money.

As a newly diagnosed T1 I am absolutely shocked at how old a lot of the technology is that we use to treat our condition. Blood glucose metres could be so much smaller and more convenient to use. In a generation where we send people into space, pumps are a complete joke - I find it ridiculous that they have not yet developed something that is self-regulating or more conveniently controlled. Similarly, CGMs: Libre is a good start but from the reviews even that needs a hell of a lot more work. As for MDIs - how hard would it be to invent a pen device that can bluetooth your doses on to your chosen diabetes management app, so you can keep track of your doses and receive reminders on your phone if you ever forget one? The technology exists and would be easy to implement, but nobody is doing anything.

For me, smart insulin seems like the most exciting development and I really hope it makes swift progress. It would turn diabetes from a disease which is on our mind 24/7 to, hopefully, one that would just involve a single quick injection every morning.

 

[tim2000s]

And frankly, the algorithms that we see in the "Artificial Pancreas" arena really don't use the best Quantitative approaches. Interstitial glucose levels move with a reasonably consistent time lag to core blood levels. A good quant algo linking CGM and a pump can sugar surf without the diabetic having to think about it. It would take a day to become acclimatized, but on a five minute basis would be fully capable of driving a pancreas replacement. And if the pump had glucagon as well in a small footprint, then it could manage the blood levels very effectively.

 

[phoenix]

There will always be someone else who develops T1 and to be honest I doubt one 'cure' will fit all .Treatments may change considerably though and some will be not be nearly as invasive as the present treatments. Others may involve cell transplantation which would provide at least a semi permanent 'cure'. These cells will have been grown in a laboratory.
There is also work on a vaccine that can be used in the early stages ,to prevent further beta cell destruction and stimulate their regrowth

Some of the research is funded by charities (DUK, JDRF) some by governments ,some by private rich philanthropists and quite a lot by big pharman
Here's some projects that are being funded by Novo (it's slightly different to many companies in that the majority shareholder is still the foundation which funds research .Novo was the company that started to bring insulin to Europe) The funding for the research though is dependent upon the commercial company making profits and the commercial side in turn relies on fundamental research to eventually result in treatments that can be sold.
http://www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en/content/cluster-research-centres?sort_bef_combine=title ASC
http://www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en/content/danish-diabetes-academy

There is a series of Tedx lectures on You tube , from various researchers who are working towards a cure..They demonstrate how much is going on but at the same time how complicated it is and how much is still to be discovered.
Youtube: tedx Del mar 2011 search for a cure (you have to choose your title, not all are about recent research)

 

[Tweetypie]

Becoming your own health advocate is not easy but I do think it's the most helpful thing you can do. While this may not be actively and scientifically seeking a cure, you can hopefully heal yourself as a person and that's half the battle. The rest I'm sure will follow, in time.......
It's all a journey and I try to follow the belief that everything is impossible until someone does it . It will all be o.k in the end, if it's not o.k then it's not the end

 

[BigRedSwitch]

I don't do the lottery, for some type 1's ( regarding this thread) it's what keeps them going. We've seen enough of the younger members who cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Who really knows what the future may hold.It's all blame and shame, I try to think more on the positive side.
RRB

That's just it, though - I am positive. I believe that I'll just live my life and that its just an inconvenience that I have to put up with.

But really - there's no point in kidding yourself. There won't be a cure - as I said, a vaccine maybe - but they'll cure every type of cancer and likely AIDS before type 1 gets a cure. Why? Because they're both 'removal' of problems as opposed to giving back something that has already gone. There's no miracle drug that is growing back the legs of soldiers who've had them blown off by a land-mine - same difference, really. Manufacturing 'immune resistant' islets for transplants would be HUGE money per individual, so I'd bet my house on that not happening anytime soon either - and I'm not a betting man.

Plus there's the revenue stream thing, of course - that, unfortunately, is undeniable.

Just a case of being realistic as opposed to optimistic I guess. I don't think about it too much - I just get on with it. More concerned about being able to lift heavier weights at the gym and being able to beat my PB for a 5k run.

I'd love it if I was wrong. It was the darkest day of my life when my son was diagnosed - because I knew it was just because he's my son. I hated myself for that (I'm the first diabetic in my entire family tree), but even for my darling, smilie little man, I know the best I can do is hope for improving treatments and try my best to look after him.

Unfortunately I know that I'm not wrong. It just isn't going to happen.

 

[tim2000s]

I guess the way you would cure a T1 is as follows.

1. Stop the T-Cells that destroy beta cells. This is the vaccine and should be usable on all, both existing and non-existing diabetics. This is the prevention.
2. Develop a stem cell/gene therapy treatment that allows the creation/conversion of cells as Beta cells.

That's the "cure". It will take some time, but it isn't unimaginable. I just imagine that it is unlikely to be something we see in the next 20 years!

 

[Robinredbreast]

Even if there won't be a cure in our lifetimes so much more could be done to help us manage our disease more easily, but obviously there is little incentive for the pharma companies to do so if what's available already is making them big money.

As a newly diagnosed T1 I am absolutely shocked at how old a lot of the technology is that we use to treat our condition. Blood glucose metres could be so much smaller and more convenient to use. In a generation where we send people into space, pumps are a complete joke - I find it ridiculous that they have not yet developed something that is self-regulating or more conveniently controlled. Similarly, CGMs: Libre is a good start but from the reviews even that needs a hell of a lot more work. As for MDIs - how hard would it be to invent a pen device that can bluetooth your doses on to your chosen diabetes management app, so you can keep track of your doses and receive reminders on your phone if you ever forget one? The technology exists and would be easy to implement, but nobody is doing anything.

For me, smart insulin seems like the most exciting development and I really hope it makes swift progress. It would turn
diabetes from a disease which is on our mind 24/7 to, hopefully, one that would just involve a single quick injection every morning.

Wouldn't that be a fantastic achievement, a hopeful thumbs up from me

 

[Robinredbreast]

Still optimistic and trying to be positive for the future, without delusions or kidding myself Onwards and upwards

 

[noblehead]

I'm more than confident that they be a cure of sorts in the near future and we will all benefit somehow, the stem cell research is moving at a fast pace and the artificial pancreas looks promising, but should the researchers only find a way of preventing people from developing diabetes in the first place that would be enough for me, breaks my heart when I hear of children getting diabetes and the heartache it must cause them and their immediate family.

 

[Diamattic]

I believe there will be a cure.

As mentioned above, we have lost the cells that produce insulin. They are gone, but that is what a cure will do - regenerate them, or create new cells to be implanted to take over that duty.

Right now there are many studies occurring that claim to stop the bodies attack on the beta cells AND regenerate the remaining cells. These studies claim that T1D who have been diabetic their whole lives still may have some beta cells that can be regenerated. It wont cure people who have had it their entire lives, but someone who was just diagnosed, it would make a significant difference too.

They may still need injections and testing, but it would be a much flatter BS profile each day, complications would be reduced, and highs would fewer and far between. Lows still a problem, but workable. It would be like being back on honeymoon.

Also, in regards to the 'cash cows' comment, yes we are generating lots of money for drug companies BUT so many governments are providing support for us that its in the governments best interest to 'cure' us. Why else would the Canadian government pay for my pump, AND give me 2500$ each year to pay for supplies? The answer - If I am healthy i am less of a strain on the healthcare system.

Also, if they cure type 1, there will always be type 2 left out there, and the drug companies will make their money from them so the industry won't just collapse. I think of it like laser eye surgery, its there you anyone who can afford it can buy it, but many don't, at least not right away.

Any cure they develop will likely not be permanent, but something that you need to 'touch up' every 5 years or something, so they would just charge a couple thousand dollars and you get off insulin, but would still check your BS daily, and take precaution, so the companies will still be making money, just from different things.