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Whilst Nev the Newshound is obviously burying a bone I came across this little piece at the top of BBC News most read section:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23064897
Type 1 diabetes vaccine hailed as ‘significant step’
It may be possible to reverse type 1 diabetes by training a patient’s own immune system to stop attacking their body, an early trial suggests.
Their immune system destroys the cells that make insulin, the hormone needed to control blood sugar levels.
A study in 80 patients, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, showed a vaccine could retrain their immune system.
Experts described the results as a “significant step”.
Normally a vaccine teaches the immune system to attack bacteria or viruses that cause disease, such as the polio virus.
Researchers at the Stanford University Medical Centre used a vaccine with the opposite effect – to make the immune system cease its assault.
In patients with type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas. This means the body is unable to produce enough insulin and regular injections of the hormone are needed throughout life.
It is a different disease to type 2 diabetes, which can be caused by an unhealthy diet.
The vaccine was targeted to the specific white blood cells which attack beta cells. After patients were given weekly injections for three months, the levels of those white blood cells fell.
‘New concept’
Blood tests also suggested that beta cell function was better in patients given the vaccine than in those treated only with insulin.However, other parts of the immune system seemed to be left intact.
Prof Lawrence Steinman said: “We’re very excited by these results, which suggest that the immunologist’s dream of shutting down just a single subset of dysfunctional immune cells without wrecking the whole immune system may be attainable.
“This vaccine is a new concept. It’s shutting off a specific immune response.”
The research is at an early stage and trials in larger groups of people, which measure the long-term effect of the vaccine, are still needed.
Prof Steinman said the effect seemed to last for up to two months so regular boosters would be needed.
Karen Addington, the UK chief executive of the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, said: “For the first time we have evidence that this particular type of vaccine has an effect in preserving insulin production in humans. This is a significant step forward on the journey towards a world without type 1 diabetes.
“We will build on this exciting DNA vaccine approach. Research into type 1 vaccines is a priority for JDRF’s multimillion-pound global research programme. But it is early days. Clinical use is still some time away.”
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Obviously of little benefit to the prescribed insulin consumers here but this has to be a good thing if it can come off.
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Well spotted @seasiderdave
Its good to see that there is research being done on other things than the “artificial pancreas”!
As you say though, probably of little use to many of us here (well the more ancient of us, anyway).
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There’s also coverage over on the always useful NHS “Behind the Headlines” site here:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/06June/Pages/Potential-vaccine-for-type-1-diabetes-shows-promise.aspx, which notes:
This early-stage study of 80 adults shows that a new vaccine shows promise in improving the function of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in adults with type 1 diabetes.
Yup, as you say it might be useful to people in the very early stages of type one? Or would it? Say if you’re diagnosed at 80% of working pancreas left the vaccine won’t “regenerate” destroyed cells, it’ll just stop more from being destroyed. So you’ll still need insulin, just less. Or have I completely misunderstood?
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Fingers crossed they manage to develop this into something that can help all the newly Dxed kiddies in the very near future – part working pancreas would be better than a completely mangled one I would have thought?
In other news… Just noticed Nev’s new classification. Shouldn’t that be ‘Benign Dogtator’?
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