Halting Diabetes
While it's not a cure, a new short-term therapy for Type One Diabetes appears to halt the progression of the disease, with no serious side effects. That's promising news for the one million Americans with what is also known as insulin dependent diabetes.
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Catherine Price is a natural on the piano.
She has Type One Diabetes but doesn't let it slow her down.
She keeps her disease in tight control.
Catherine Price
Has type 1 diabetes
"It's a tightrope and if you're off on either side there are consequences."
Catherine has it better than many diabetics, thanks to a two- week experimental treatment she received shortly after diagnosis. Researchers say HOKT-3 GAMMA -1 is the first short-term therapy that appears to slow progression of the disease.
Kevan Herold, M.D.
Endocrinologist
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
New York, NY
"We know that it inactivates the cells that are responsible for the development of type 1 diabetes. So somehow or another, it turns them off so that they don't continue to destroy the insulin-producing cells."
While it's unclear how long the effects will last, two years later Catherine is producing more of her own insulin than she probably would have without the treatment.
Kevan Herold, M.D.
"People who control their diabetes very well will have a much lower risk of developing the long-term complications, such as eye disease, kidney disease and others. And if you're able to make some of your own insulin, it's a lot easier to do that."
Catherine Price
"I'm just really happy about it. Because if I didn't have that, I can't even imagine how hard it would be."
Researchers are conducting additional studies to see if HOKT-3 GAMMA might also be effective in treating people who've had type one diabetes longer, and also in delaying the onset of the disease.
TYPE 1 DIABETES: Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease that develops when the pancreas stops producing insulin. Insulin lets sugar (glucose) enter body cells, where it is used for energy. Without enough insulin, the blood sugar level rises above what is safe for the body. If the blood sugar level becomes very high, a life-threatening emergency can develop. Over time, high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, and increase the risk of eye, heart, blood vessel, nerve, and kidney disease. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, though it usually develops in children and young adults. About 5 percent to 10 percent of all people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes, which equals about one million Americans.
WHAT CAUSES TYPE 1? Type 1 diabetes develops because of an autoimmune response in which the body does not recognize some of its own cells and destroys them. In type 1 diabetes, the cells that produce insulin, beta cells, are destroyed.
STANDARD TREATMENT: Treatment for type 1 diabetes focuses on keeping blood sugar levels within a safe range. Daily injections of insulin are required to keep type 1 diabetics alive. Pump therapy, in which insulin is pumped through the body via a small device attached to the body, can also be used. Treatment is adjusted based on the results of daily home blood sugar tests.
NEW HOPE: A new short-term therapy for type 1 diabetes appears to halt progression of the disease with no serious side effects. Researchers from Columbia University and the University of California, San Francisco gave 12 patients, ages 7 to 27, the drug hOKT3g1, within six weeks of diagnosis. The drug specifically targets disease-causing T-cells of the immune system. Patients received daily injections for just two weeks. Researchers found participants who took hOKT3g1 preserved some of their beta cell function and continued to produce their own insulin. In turn, patients needed less supplemental insulin to maintain their blood sugar than those who did not take the drug. Though researchers warn it's not a cure, the ability to continue secreting insulin is an important marker of healthier prognosis and better control of the disease. Treated patients also showed improvements in diabetes symptoms and other clinical signs.
THE FUTURE: Researchers are not sure how long the effect of the drug lasts. They found effects have lasted at least two years in some patients. Researchers are now conducting additional studies to see if hOKT3g1 might also be effective in treating people who've had type 1 diabetes longer, and in delaying the onset of the disease.
Tina Gellhorn
Administrative Assistant
Columbia University
PH 10 Room 203E
630 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
(212) 342-3253
cg482@columbia.edu
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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