Guest guest Posted August 19, 1999 Report Share Posted August 19, 1999 Since many graves' sufferers also have diabetes, I found it could be of interest the following: " " British medical researchers said Wednesday they had taken big steps toward finding an eventual cure for diabetes, a disease that affects millions worldwide and forces them to take daily insulin injections Researchers at several British universities have discovered a way to artificially grow and genetically modify human cells which, when transplanted into the body, would control the flow of insulin, a leading researcher said ``This is an important development and offers a novel approach to a very different treatment to diabetes and could also help find a cure,'' Docherty, head of molecular biology at Aberdeen University, told Reuters. Diabetes affects some 1.5 million people in Britain and roughly 50 million people worldwide. The discovery of insulin in 1922 freed many from the disease's death sentence, but there has been little new progress since then Because diabetes patients cannot produce enough insulin, a vital hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, transplanting insulin-secreting cells from the pancreas has long been seen as offering a possible cure. But the problem has always been the scarcity of donors and destruction of the cells by the body's immune system Docherty's team at Aberdeen was then able to successfully genetically alter the cells to regulate their insulin flows. Because the cells are made in a lab, researchers should find it easier to make them resist attack from the immune system. ``This is just one approach to finding an eventual cure, but in combination with other work being done, it holds great promise,'' Docherty said. " " http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990819/sc/health_diabetes_2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 1999 Report Share Posted August 19, 1999 I was very interested to read of the new research on diabetes. I do not agree however that there has been little research since 1922. There has been volumes done. And at least we have been given some ways, that is diet, exercise, and tight control which allow us to live a relatively healthy life. Of course some of these " new ways " are almost impossible to follow. I believe only 5% of diabetics are able. But we have also been given a few tools to manage like the gulcometer and the pen. However, if diabetes is caused by a retrovirus which creates antibodies which inturn destroys the ability of the body to produce insulin aren't these new cells going to be destroyed by those same antibodies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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