Cure for diabetes expected in the next 25 years

Tue, 28 Jan 2014
A leading diabetes expert has claimed that a cure for the disease could be available "within a generation".

Dr Nick Oliver, diabetes consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said scientists in the UK are leading the way in the quest to combat diabetes thanks to the development of new technology such as the BiAP, the world’s first bio-inspired artificial pancreas.

Created by Dr Oliver's team, clinical trials of the Bio-Inspired Artificial Pancreas have already begun, and it is hoped that this new device will offer the 400,000 people in the UK with Type 1 diabetes a new and effective treatment - one which doesn't require daily blood tests and insulin injections.

The BiAP attaches to the abdomen via a thin tube and works by combining a continuous glucose monitor with an insulin pump to release the hormone into the body as and when it is needed.

Another artificial pancreas system is currently being developed at De Montfort University in Leicester and is expected to be ready for human trials by 2016.

With the development of such technology, Dr Oliver believes that a diabetes cure will be discovered by the time he retires in 25 years.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Britain’s most respected diabetes researcher said: "There is a race on, that’s why what we are doing is incredibly exciting. There are lots of avenues that will lead to - potential cures for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and if I could see it in my career that would be incredibly exciting."
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