Foundation optimistic about cure for diabetes

Both staff and volunteers at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in Canada are confident that a cure can be found for type 1 diabetes, as they gear up for the 2007 walk to cure diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is often regarded as the more serious of the two main strands of the disease. Type 1 is often diagnosed in early childhood or adolescence, and occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, type 1 diabetics are dependent on insulin throughout their lives.
The problem is by no means small in Canada, where over 200,000 suffer from type 1 diabetes. Most young type 1 diabetic patients need to manage their disease with regular injections, although for some insulin pumps are now available.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include extreme thirst, the need to urinate frequently, feeling drowsy or lethargic, more need to eat, and a sudden loss of weight .