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T1 CURE...????? really

Seriously_Sax1989 said:
Right ok, we're obviously not ever going to come to any common ground so let's leave it here. You say you're not pessimistic I say you are, you basically think I'm weak for having hope, I disagree.
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If you read back through the thread, I'd already bowed out due to my disagreement with the 'hopers'.

You obviously don't understand what pessimism is, though, as if you did, you'd realise I'm not.
 
[was a response - a positive one! - to a deleted post - made no sense once the original was deleted]
 
Yep, I did that ..... decided to let it rest Nite all Mike
 
... and that sums it up for me quite nicely.

Like comparing DOS to Windows 8 or a 5 1/4 floppy to a 64GB USB or a Model T Ford with a F1 racecar or the Edison cylinder to a audiophile CD or the Wright brothers to a probe shortly to reach Pluto in June 2015. I wonder which generation(s) were responsible for most of this stuff?

You must believe, you must try even in the absence of an horizon you cannot see.

We are capable of anything.

If you fail, give me your hand, if you must give in, I'll give you mine

Mike
 
Paul J said:
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!
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I believe there will be a cure one day, maybe in the form of inoculation for those with a family history of Diabetes. Research scientists will strive to find a cure; just imagine the kudos as the person who cured diabetes!!
 
A cure will certainly come one day, as we start to better understand the mechanics of the disease down to the cell and molecule level. Question is of course how quickly we can advance toward mapping out all and then convert that into a viable cure that can be scaled to all that needs it. E.g. human beta-cell transplants may work, but we have not even 1/10,000 of the donor organs we need to cover the world population of diabetics. So a real cure need to be based on technology leap we do not yet grasp. I agree there is always hope for a cure, but thinking egoistically (as we human often do) we may conclude its potentially not going to happen in our own lifetime.
Thinking back when I got diagnosed back in early 70ties, we already had talks then about the cure probably just being max 5-8 years away. That unfortunately seem to have been repeated again and again. Granted, we have also learned a lot since then, and tried many more new approaches. We are getting wiser for every turn we make. Diabetes is a complex beast, and as we know today (and not 30+ years back) actually a group of diseases (T1, T2, T1.5, LADA, etc) all simply leading to the same type of symptoms. But they may all have different root causes and as result need a different 'cure' to be resolved. Nano technology and bio-engineering/DNA manipulation gets my money for the road ahead.
 
http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/06/05/leiden-researcher-developing-diabetes-cure/

This sounds really promising. Let's hope farmacy industry will not buy it off the market..

Full article:

Dutch scientists are working on a method that could cure type 1 diabetes through restoring insulin production.

Prof. Dr. B. Roep, a leading international diabetes researcher connected to the Leiden University Medical Center, expects that this method could in the near future significantly improve or even completely cure this autoimmune disease, even in people who have been suffering from it for years. The Leiden researchers have found that patients with diabetes still have intact “beta cells”, which in principle should be able to produce insulin again.

“Insulin injections, which many patients (also with type-2 diabetes) do, is actually no more than fighting symptoms. We therefore want to directly intervene in the restart of the disrupted insulin production”, Roep said to the Telegraaf.

Diabetes is a growing problem all over the world, but also in the Netherlands. In November last year, Statistics Netherlands reported that 4.5 percent of the Dutch population has diabetes, compared to 2.5 percent in 2002.
 
I think your summary article (which in all honesty says nothing about how or anything) as actually taken from this announcement that came out 27 May in this one:
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G Marchioli, L van Gurp, P P van Krieken, D Stamatialis, M Engelse, C A van Blitterswijk, M B J Karperien, E de Koning, J Alblas, L Moroni, A A van Apeldoorn. Fabrication of three-dimensional bioplotted hydrogel scaffolds for islets of Langerhans transplantation. Biofabrication, 2015; 7 (2): 025009 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/7/2/025009
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Text follows:
Researchers from the Netherlands have explored how 3D printing can be used to help treat type 1 diabetes in results presented in IOP Publishing's journal Biofabrication.

The 3D printing technique, known as bioplotting, has taken researchers one step closer to being able to help patients who experience severe hypoglycaemic events, commonly known as 'hypos'- a problem that affects about a third of people with type 1 diabetes according to Diabetes UK.

The paper describes how clusters of specialized cells responsible for the production of insulin and glucagon in the pancreas, called islets of Langerhans, have successfully been 3D printed into a scaffold. It is hoped that the scaffolds can be transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes to help regulate blood sugar levels and avoid 'hypos'.

In their study, the group of researchers sought to increase the success of islet transplantation by creating bioengineered scaffolds to help deliver the transplanted islet cells into patients, ensuring the cells are protected and fully functioning when placed at the donor site.

The islets were embedded into three-dimensional scaffolds made from an alginate/gelatin mixture with a cross-linked structure and showed full functionality once extracted, meaning that the scaffolds could function as a potential delivery vehicle in future transplantations. The islet cells were included in the liquid hydrogel mixture during printing to create the porous three-dimensional scaffold.

When selecting the material for the scaffold, the researchers had to strike a balance between a liquid mixture that had a high enough viscosity for a strong scaffold to be 3D printed, and a mixture that would not compromise the functionality of the cells when transplanted.

The porous structure of the scaffolds was selected over a bulk material so that it could efficiently facilitate the exchange of glucose and insulin. At the same time, the scaffold was designed to offer protection to the islet cells from the body's immune system, which would recognise the foreign cells and begin to attack them.

It is for this particular reason that current islet transplantation patients need to undergo a lifelong immunosuppressive therapy to avoid rejection of the transplanted donor tissue.

Co-author of the study Dr A A van Apeldoorn, from the University of Twente, said: "Our results showed that once the islet cells were retrieved from the alginate/gelatin scaffolds in the lab they were able to produce insulin and respond to glucose in the same way as non-printed islet cells, indicating that the procedure had not affected their viability or function at all.

"The macroporous scaffolds also ensured that the islet cells would not migrate uncontrollably through the body once transplanted into the donor site.

"If we are to improve the success of this treatment for type 1 diabetes, we need to create an implant in which islets are embedded, or encapsulated, from a material that allows for very efficient oxygen and nutrient supply, and quick exchange of glucose and insulin, while keeping the host cells out.

"Our future research will look further into recreating an optimal islet microenvironment to provide the donor islets with the best transplantation start possible."
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So all in all 'just' a new delivery method to improve placement of donor islet cells (of which we know there never will be enough of to cure all diabetics on earth). Not mentioned either in the full research article is the perfusion success rate (oxygen and nutrition support of transplanted cells), which has been the weak link and reason why islet transplants so far fail miserably after just a few weeks/months after implant. Islet cell survival rates over time is therefore critical. If this scaffold can protect so no immunosuppressive drugs are needed, then I would enjoy to see it tested asap using e.g. porcine beta-islets, as supplies are plenty and the insulin we know from the past works great in humans. I would even be proud to change my username to PigMan if that would work!
 
Thanks but I don't think your post is related to the article I posted.

The one I posted talkes about 'wakin up' insulin producing cells that are apparently still in the pancreas of diabetic type 1s, but they have become inactive. Honestly that sounds very different from the method described in your article. Also it isn't the same University mentioned.

I have the full article in dutch and it was front page news in the Netherlands some days ago.

At least it's good to see that different methods are evaluating.
 
I have been wondering if a 'cure' or an more non evasive simple way to control/improve type 1 diabetes did happen, could there be a cut off point regarding the amount of years of being diagnosed ? Or would every Type 1 be tested to see if there is any pancreatic function, or would it be a selective process, a bit like' lottery postcodes' ?
 
I think that one of the things hindering the search for a cure for Type 1 diabetes is the tendency to see it as an illness in itself, separate from all others. You see this focus on the islets of Langerhans to the exclusion of all else. A broader view would look at it as an autoimmune disorder related to other autoimmune disorders. I actually have the same attitude as BRS to my diabetes. It's part of me. In my case I cannot remember NOT having it. So imagining or hoping for a cure feels a bit like hoping not to be me! I am never ashamed or embarrassed by it, etc, etc. So, there is no personal urgency for me.

However, and this is a very big however, diabetes is known to run in the same families as schizophrenia. This has been known for at least one hundred and fifty years. Some scientists have lately started describing schizophrenia as "diabetes of the brain". First of all people with sz do have problems with insulin receptors in the brain, secondly they often have Type 2 diabetes, even when they are drug naive, thirdly diabetics often get dementia as they get older, fourthly, in the main type of sz there is evidence of an immune attack on the brain.

Furthermore, many type 1 diabetics demonstrate psychological symptoms which typically characterize schizophrenia (GAD, depression, etc). But full-on sz is rare in Type 1s. In fact they have a lower rate of diagnosis of sz than the general population. (From personal observation, I wonder about this, when I have witnessed people in psychosis, it is uncannily like witnessing someone having a hypo with paranoia, and they respond very well to calming talk and cup of tea with sugar!)

Added to all this, there is a lot of co-occurrence between T1 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hypothyroidism, etc, etc.

Also, may I say that in the time I have been a diabetic, there has been a significant shift in the language doctors use to describe complications. They now tend to say, "There is a very strong association between complications and a higher than average blood sugar." Note that an association is not necessarily a cause. It may be that the people who tend to run high are the people whose autoimmune attack is still in action, and rather fierce. That may be why they find it harder to get control. It may be the autoimmune reaction that is damaging the heart, kidneys, etc., not actually the sugar. Or it may be interacting.

(This is a bit like cannabis and schizophrenia. The cannabis probably doesn't cause it but makes it a darn site harder to get better.)

When you look at all that, you start to see that Big Pharma are not plotting against us. They are actually wasting billions on poking about in the pancreas. The problem is much, much bigger than that.

However, some scientists are looking at the big picture. Some scientists are working on the notion that autoimmune diseases are essentially neurological. The CNS sends out the wrong signal (possibly in response to a viral attack) and that triggers the autoimmune attack. I liked the research about a year ago that said they had managed to find relief (not a cure) for people with rheumatoid arthritis - a wicked painful condition. How? By passing a magnet over the vagus nerve once a day. Incredible!

I laughed! Imagine in five years if they come to us and say, "Ahem, about those fifty-odd years of injections and blood tests and hypos and DKAs and ..... Well, we've got a better thing now. Could you just pass the magnet over your collarbone once a day? That oughta do it. Sorry about all that. Nice knowing you. Got to change my speciality now."
 
Excellent idea You'll be able to get a choice of trendy magnet covers of course, with especially bright ones for kids. Keep the magnet stuck on the fridge door to remind you to zap yourself while making your morning tea
 
And I predict here and now that the day the cure for diabetes turns out to be something trivial like a magnetic implant, some people will STILL complain about it!
 
RuthW said:
And I predict here and now that the day the cure for diabetes turns out to be something trivial like a magnetic implant, some people will STILL complain about it!
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Certainly if companies like Novo and Eli Lilly still monopolies the market, so we have to use their one-time-use-only disposable magnets, priced so high that their shareholders still bank billions in profit every year and our physicians still only are 'allowed' to prescribe us magnets for 1 month's usage at a time between each consultancy we pay them. Did I mention by the way that those magnets are weighing 5 kilos each, only available in big black squares and causes serious allergies/long-term complications for a high number of patients. Turns out that the magnets contain high level of nickel and cobalt, as the manufacturers gets raw material from cheapest mining sub-suppliers.
 
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