In the United States alone, 1.25 million people suffer from type 1 diabetes. A vaccineused over 100 years ago for tuberculosis (bacillus Calmette-Guerin ) has shown promise in reversing this disease. This vaccine is now commonly used for treating bladder cancer and is considered to be safe.
An announcement made yesterday at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association said that the FDA will test the vaccine on 150 people who are in an advanced stage of type one diabetes.
The body of a man with sort 1 diabetes does not deliver insulin because of the safe frameworkwrecking the cells that make insulin .Immune system microorganisms are delivered , and these cellsmake issues in the pancreatic islet’s , where insulin is created . The antibody works by wiping outthese White blood cells . Patients with diabetes infused with the immunization saw an expansion ofthe levels of a substance called tumor putrefaction component . The expanded level of TNF in theframework devastates the Immune system microorganisms that are preventing the creation of insulin. In a past trial , patients were infused with the tuberculosis immunization twice inside a four-weektimes the span . The outcomes demonstrated that the hazardous White blood cells were gone , and a few people even started to emit insulin all alone ..
Dr. Denise Faustman, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory in Boston, is very excited about the results the BCG vaccine has been showing.
“In the phase I (preliminary) trial we demonstrated a statistically significant response to BCG, but our goal in (this trial) is to create a lasting therapeutic response. We will be working again with people who have had type 1 diabetes for many years. This is not a prevention trial; instead, we are trying to create a regimen that will treat even advanced disease.”
This new five-year trial will begin this late spring . The individuals that are selected will extend for over ages from 18 to 60-years of age . The trial will utilize the same configuration as was utilizedbefore by infusing patients twice inside a four-week times frame . Patients will then have one infusiona year for the following four years .
Not all diabetes experts are confident that this treatment will work. Robert Sobel, an assistant professor of endocrinology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, explains why he is skeptical.
“I think it’s a stretch to say this would have a huge impact on the millions plus type I diabetes patients in this country. We would love to do something to preserve or repopulate their beta cell mass. Historically, we have watched it dwindle and have not been able to do something (in time).”
Time will tell if this vaccine will become a viable treatment option for type 1 diabetes or not.
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