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Type 1 Diabetes
T1 CURE...????? really
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<blockquote data-quote="RuthW" data-source="post: 875307" data-attributes="member: 148713"><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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!)</p><p></p><p>Added to all this, there is a lot of co-occurrence between T1 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hypothyroidism, etc, etc.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>(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.)</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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! </p><p></p><p>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."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RuthW, post: 875307, member: 148713"] 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." [/QUOTE]
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