• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

cure for diabetes at last (this is for real)

D

desidiabulum

Well-Known Member
Messages
706
Hello everyone.
[Removed potentially inflammatory remark] has anyone actually noticed that a real cure for diabetes has just been announced?
Doug Melton's breakthrough is front page news in todays' Times. Described as possibly the biggest health breakthrough since the discovery of antibiotics
Is anyone interested?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the heads up! Sorry I missed the thread - I suppose I thought it would have made more of an impact. Thankyou for your wise cautionary words in the other thread, Phoenix -- but as you say, at least a few flags might be put out to celebrate this stage of the development
 
[Removed potentially inflammatory remark]

I saw the article yesterday - it seems like an amazing breakthrough to me - the most important development in diabetes since the introduction of insulin. It's very humbling that the lead researcher set out more than 20 years ago to find a cure because his young son had Type 1. Just shows what can be achieved when someone really cares about something.

Smidge
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hope there is some truth in the news and the wait for the treatment is too long. Unfortunately I made the mistake of reading the Dail Fail, I know, I should have known better, but I was lured by the headlines, at least I didn't buy the bloody thing.

"But the research also offers hope to the three million Britons with type 2 diabetes, in which the body doesn't make insulin or the insulin doesn't work properly. This version is fuelled by obesity, rather than the immune system and eats up a tenth of the NHS budget." (put another way 3.2 million diabetics, about 5% of the population, are using up 10% of the funds, shame on us type IIs, especially as it's all our fault, if you believe what the paper says).

Waste of time asking for their empirical evidence. Whilst there may be a connection, this sort of statement tends to gloss over a lot of the truth. Just makes me angry.
 
My local chemist told me earlier and was very excited about it. He assumes a further breakthrough and eventual release to uk soon ish.

Will take a look.
 
It's all over the News !! Apparently, 10-15 yrs away but, still marvellous .
On a personal side of things. Not bothered for myself but, if my children get diabetes or their children (if they have them!!)
Things could be so, different for them.

If they crack this ( believe Harvard have been doing the research & now Liverpool Uni are involved. Where my son is a fresher, sorry !!! Proud Mum moment )
The Noble Peace Prize gets my vote.
So hang in their you youngsters
 
BBC are onto it also. It is tempting to get excited I know but one step at a time. This result helps no end but an essential step is to work out how to protect the beta cells against the immune system! Seems like the latter is one system we can't live without but wish we didn't have system in our case lol
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29566784
 
Im 18 and got diagnosed type 1 a year ago. The news headlines have given me hope because life isn't impossible with type 1 but it does tear you apart. Its like going through a couple of long distance runs and a few fights every day... Knackering and very draining.

Thank you science, We've got hope to keep us going.
 
Well I am pleased that there is a realistic possibility of a curative therapy for type 1 diabetics in the future. There is nothing like hope for lifting mood and replenishng the soul.
 
It really is welcome news but I don't think it deserved all the hype in the press to be honest. The lead doc suggests at least 10 years before trials on humans and could be many more years, if at all, it becomes generally available. There are questions still to be answered as to what will stop our bodies attacking the new stem cells ? How often and how will they be delivered, cost, etc etc. Still. It's certainly a step forward.
 
I think a great step would be to form Beta cells that present different antigens on their surface so as not to be targeted by the immune system. That way they will function whilst 'hiding' from the WBCs.
Easier said than done tho!
 

Hi,
I dont think you will ever see a cure for diabetes. The drug companies make a mint out of selling insulin and metformin etc to allow that to happen. There will not be cures for any long term disease that makes a big profit for the drug companies including cancer.
 

That is a rather twisted way to look at things?
 
Dazza1984 said:
That is a rather twisted way to look at things?
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree, the cost of a dose of new beta cells will be high; the cost of research and development will also be high. As with all costs it will fall as patents expire. There will always though be new people with diabetes unless people are all tested for susceptibility genes and then an effective vaccine is developed
It may be that any developer waives patent rights. This happened when insulin was first discovered.
There is no doubt that drug companies make profits and individuals in them may earn large salaries. Some I think though may be more ethical than others
Maybe I'm naïve, I'm not an expert on finance but I don't think that all drug companies are the same . For example the firm Novo Nordisk (who are also into stem cell research) has a history that goes back to a firm originally started to bring insulin to Europe. Yes, it makes profits for investors but to me it seems that the charitable arm, has the majority shareholding
http://www.novonordisk.com/about_us/ownership/ownership.asp
 
Everyone should look at www.drperlmutter.com . He thinks he has a cure. Just looked at it yesterday
 

Charity or not, it's still run by humans...

In my experience, anything involving humans is susceptible to ego, corruption and greed - especially the charity 'industry'.

Anyway, as @Dazza1984 and others have said, this is NOT a cure; it's a treatment. A cure involves tackling the cause of the autoimmune response so that any implanted islet cells are not then destroyed in the same manner as our original ones.

I've often wondered, would a bone marrow transplant work for T1 as it does for things like Leukemia and help tackle / alleviate the autoimmune response?
 
 
I am type1 diagnosed at three. It really is a daily battle and sometimes a minute by minute battle. I get tired sometimes..
We really do need a cure...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…