I agree with DiabeticSkater's original point. I've seen a lot of research in recent years that is targeted at new medications, or making medication easier to deliver, or trying to reverse Type-1, but nothing on what causes it in the first place and how can we prevent it from happening. If anyone has seen research on this then please enlighten me. The pharmas make billions worldwide from the diabetes industry so it is in their interests to keep coming up with new treatments. It would be financial suicide to find a cure for it!diabetesmum said:There is loads of cutting edge research going on in Britain (and in the US, Asia and elsewhere) at the moment, dedicated to finding a cure for Type 1, so don't despair!
lionrampant said:We're "treatable" and also "profitable" for the pharmas. It's in no one's interest but ours (and the NHS) to cure diabetes.
You are right, there isn't a lot of research being done on this. I suspect that this is for a number of reasons. Science (and most importantly science funding) is a human endeavor, and as such is subject to the foibles of fashion and politics like anything else. Treatments and potential "cures" are seen as far more glamorous (not to mention profitable) to drug companies and research councils alike than the prevention. Public health is always the poor cousin of treatment in any area of medial research - vastly more money is spent trying to find new treatments for cancer than in preventing it in the first place. Secondly, the causes and potential prevention of Type 1 diabetes is a really hard problem. The consensus is that it is an autoimmune disease (i.e. one where the body's immune system attacks a part of the body itself - in this case beta cells). Now, all autoimmune diseases are difficult, but diabetes is far more complex than most. Researchers interested in autoimmune diseases tend to work on simpler ones that offer better prospects for short term advancement. Researchers interested in diabetes tend to work on treatments or cures - because there is a general feeling that major breakthroughs are just around the corner. Working on possible preventions may be useful, but it is a much poorer career prospect for researchers than working towards new treatments.Dennis said:I've seen a lot of research in recent years that is targeted at new medications, or making medication easier to deliver, or trying to reverse Type-1, but nothing on what causes it in the first place and how can we prevent it from happening.
Hello Dennis,Dennis said:Dr Faustman's discovery that a BCG vaccination can reverse diabetes ought to mean that if we were to inject all children with BCG then they wouldn't become Type-1s. But we have been doing that anyway (until the innocolations were stopped this year) but the numbers of children presenting with Type-1 is still increasing year on year.
