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Transplants Help Type 1 diabetics Skip Insulin

April 15, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

There are more and more ways to deal with diabtes these days, and more than that there are more discoveries every day. People with type 1 diabetes who got stem cell transplants were able to go as long as four years without needing insulin treatments, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said the process, which involves injecting people with stem cells made from their bone marrow cells, appears to have a lasting effect. The study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, which occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar.

These patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues first reported on the short-term success of the procedure, known as autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, in 2007 but have since looked at how long it persisted.

Writing in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association they said 20 of 23 patients “became insulin free — 12 continuously and eight transiently — for periods as long as four years.” The transient group of eight had to restart insulin at reduced levels.

The patients ranged in age from 13 to 31.

To find out if the change was lasting the research team said they measured levels of C-peptides, which show how well the body is producing insulin. They found those levels increased “up to 24 months after transplantation and were maintained until at least 36 months,” their report said.

Even in the group which had to restart insulin there was still a significant increase in C-peptide levels that lasted at least two years, the researchers said.

They said the procedure was able to induce “prolonged and significant increases of C-peptide levels” in the small group of patients who were taking little or no insulin.

“At the present time (it) remains the only treatment capable of reversing type 1 diabetes mellitus in humans,” the team wrote.

“Randomized controlled trials and further biological studies are necessary to confirm the role of this treatment in changing the natural history of (the disease),” they added.

Reproduced through Reuters

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, diabetes treatment, insulin, skipping insulin, Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes in UK Growing Faster than in the US

February 26, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

For quite some time Diabetes has been one of the leading causes of severe illness and linked to many deaths throughout the world with the U.S. leading the way until recently when the UK took the lead in the numbers of individuals with diabetes. Most of the rise in diabetes in both countries are attributed to obesity.

Type 1 Diabetes comes on usually during pre-teen and teen years. There is too much glucose in the blood and it can make you ill. Type 2 diabetes usually comes on gradually, often after the age of 35 or 40, however those figures are getting lower and lower. People who are extremely overweight are most likely to get Type 2 Diabetes.

Researchers have found that diabetes is affecting more and more people and more and more are being diagnosed in the UK, the US and other developed countries. Using a large database of medical records, studies were done on nearly 2 million people with diabetes in the UK. The studies showed that in 1996 in the UK, there was nearly 3% of UK citizens with diabetes. By 2005 there was an overall increase of 54%, with type 2 diabetes being up over 66%.

The researchers have also looked at the rise of diabetes in both countries over the past decade. Diabetes has increased in the US approximately 41% and 66% in the UK. The difference in the two countries could be that campaigns and research to deal with diabetes in the US has been going on longer than in the UK, creating an awareness and various programs to help control diabetes sooner in the US.

Regardless, it is important and essential that research continues, programs continue and awareness of how to avoid, treat and control diabetes also continue, no matter where it takes hold anywhere in the world.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, diabetes awareness, diabetes control, diabetes treatment, obesity, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes

Juvenile Diabetes – What Symptoms to Look For

December 4, 2008 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

Juvenile Diabetes is also called Type 1 Diabetes.  A child or young person that has diabetes is in a situation where their body does not create enough insulin, and as a result, it needs to be treated by the person taking insulin shots to provide for the insulin not being produced in the body.

The production of insulin, which is an important hormone, happens in the pancreas.  The food a child eats is broken down by the body into a sugar called glucose.  The sugar is carried through the blood and gives the body energy.  Insulin helps the sugar enter the cells in the body and controls the amount of sugar in the blood.

What happens with diabetes is that there ends up being too much sugar in the blood because there is not enough insulin to balance out the sugar.  This can cause many heath problems, and if they are not treated, these problems can end up being fatal.

In childhood diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes), the pancreas cannot create enough insulin because many of the cells in the pancreas are being destroyed, sometimes due to the body’s immune system destroying the cells.  Sometimes Type 1 Diabetes occurs due to hereditary factors, as it can be genetic and run in families.

Some of the main symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes are excessive thirst, urinating a lot and losing weight.  Some of the treatments include learning about the disease and learning about what type of diet can be helpful and healthy for diabetes.  It is important for the family to learn this information.  Another part of treatment is controlling blood sugar through use of a glucose meter to check the levels, but just as importantly, exploring the choices for a good diet and sticking to it.  Keytone tests are also important.  Basically, they test the urine and can tell you if enough insulin is being produced.  Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you how they work.

It is also essential to have continuous treatment and monitoring through your family’s or child’s doctor, not only for the child that is diagnosed with diabetes, but also to have the entire family tested, as well. 

Juvenile, Childhood or Type 1 Diabetes can be managed and controlled in a way that will allow your child to live a normal life, doing the same things that other children do.  There is a lot of information available.  One of the best sources of information is the American Diabetes Association.  You can call them at 1-800-342-2383 or visit the on the web at www.diabetes.org.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: Childhood Diabetes, Diabetes Care, diabetes monitoring, diabetes treatment, Juvenile Diabetges, Type 1 Diabetes

The Facts about Type 1 Diabetes

December 1, 2008 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

 

Childhood Diabetes is also called Type 1 Diabetes.  A child or young person that has diabetes is in a situation where their body does not create enough insulin, and as a result, it needs to be treated by taking insulin shots to provide for the insulin not being produced in the body.

The production of insulin, which is an important hormone, happens in the pancreas.  The food a child eats is broken down by the body into a sugar called glucose.  The sugar is carried through the blood and gives the body energy.  Insulin helps the sugar enter the cells in the body and controls the amount of sugar in the blood.

In diabetes there is too much sugar in the blood because there is not enough insulin to balance out the sugar.  This can cause many heath problems, and if they are not treated, these problems can end up being fatal.

In childhood diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes), the pancreas cannot create enough insulin because many of the cells in the pancreas are being destroyed, sometimes due to the body’s immune system destroying the cells.  Sometimes Type 1 Diabetes occurs due to hereditary factors, as it can be genetic and run in families.

Some symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes are excessive thirst, urinating a lot and losing weight.  Some of the treatments include learning about the disease and learning about what type of diet can be helpful and healthy for diabetes.  It is important for the family to learn this information as well. 

Another part of treatment is controlling blood sugar through use of a glucose meter to check the levels, but just as importantly, exploring the choices for a good diet and sticking to it.  Keytone tests are also important.  Keytone tests test the urine to tell you if enough insulin is being produced.  Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you how they work.

Continuous treatment and monitoring through your family’s or child’s doctor is essential, not only for the child that is diagnosed with diabetes, but also to have the entire family tested, as well. 

Juvenile, Childhood or Type 1 Diabetes can be managed and controlled in a way that will allow your child to live a normal life, doing the same things that other children do.  There is a lot of information available.  One of the best sources of information is the American Diabetes Association.  You can call them at 1-800-342-2383 or visit the on the web at www.diabetes.org.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: American Diabetes Association, diabetes treatment, glucose control, glucose meter, insulin, juvenile diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes