I've read of ONE verified cure of t1, probably the only one so far.
However, it had enough side effects that few of you will want to
try that method. Someone had an immune system problem that
was expected to kill him in perhaps a year, and also t1. The best
treatment available for that immune system condition was to kill
all the bone marrow with radiation, then perform a bone marrow
transplant, leaving the patient alive but requiring anti-rejection
medicines for the rest of his life. His doctors were able to find a
bone marrow donor with a small genetic difference that prevented
producing the type of white blood cells that attack the beta cells
of the pancreas. He had enough pancreas stem cells that he was
then able to regenerate enough beta cells for a cure.
Most of the other people offering a cure or reversal for diabetes
forget to mention that their definition of "cure" and/or "reversal"
does not match the definition used by the rest of the English-speaking
world.
Gene therapy by injecting viruses designed to insert a new gene
section is already in use occasionally, but with a major problem -
there is no control of where the new section is inserted into the
old genes, and if some cell gets it in the middle of a section that
prevents cancer in that type of cell, the patient has a significant
risk of developing cancer about ten years later. Leukemia in the
patient I've read about, but animal tests indicate that several other
types of cancer are also possible.
A Dr. Faustman is trying to develop to treatment to stop white
blood cell attacks on the beta cells, by using the BCG vaccine to
keep those white blood cells busy doing something else. The phase
1 trial included only 3 people with t1. One was able to stop taking
insulin for a few months, and another was able to reduce the amount
of insulin used. This suggests that some, but not all, of the people
with t1 still have enough stem cells in their pancreas to regenerate
the beta cells if the immune system stops attacking them. Note that
this was tried on too few people with t1 to say much on what
percentage it will help, though.
http://www.faustmanlab.org/
A recent article on a new possibility:
<
http://www.monacowealthmanagement.c...ness-breakthrough-pill-can-cure-diabetes.php>
It involves controlling diabetes by daily use of a pill that contains
probiotics designed to produce insulin in the upper intestine. Tried
only on rats so far. At least one reporter has been seen describing
this as a cure for both t1 and t2, though.
I expect the major drug companies to work on such a cure only AFTER
at least one small drug company starts making money offering such a
cure, and the small drug companies to start offering one only after some
independent researcher does most of the work to develop such a cure.