Just thought I'd pass on the latest "news" from the local diabetes newsletter I get.
Research News December 2006: Researchers at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine published findings of a study done in mice in the Dec 15, 2006 issue of Cell that suggest type 1 diabetes could potentially be treated or prevented with drugs that work on the nervous system. The group discovered that immune responses are tied to defective sensory nerve cells. These cells, called TRPV1 neurons, respond to insulin by sending out powerful chemical signals, one of which is a pain-related protein called substance P. When researchers removed the sensory neurons, it prevented inflammation of the cells and the mice did not develop diabetes. An injection of substance P into the pancreas also cleared islet cell inflammation in the mice and normalized the elevated insulin resistance associated with diabetes. This research suggests that defective sensory nerves help start, and maintain, diabetes in diabetes-prone individuals. TRPV1 defects may also play a role in other autoimmune diseases such as Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. More research is now needed to show if this will prove the same in humans as it does in mice and whether these abnormalities start early in life and if they contribute to disease development. There will be much excitement if these studies are indeed confirmed in humans.
December 2006: A research team at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and at the University of Heidelberg has proven that a specific gene called the carnosinase 1 gene, located on human chromosome 18 protects some people with diabetes from developing severe kidney disease. This team evaluated 858 individuals including people with diabetes and end-stage kidney disease on dialysis, people with diabetes with normal kidney function and healthy non-diabetic individuals. They confirmed the protective form of the carnosinase 1 gene was present in greater frequency among both healthy individuals and diabetic subjects without kidney disease, compared to the patients on dialysis who more commonly had forms of the gene that were not protective. This gene produces an enzyme called carnosinase which inactivates the protective substance called carnosine. Carnosine appears to prevent scarring from developing in the kidney tissue and serves as a scavenger of damaging oxygen-free radicals. This discovery holds promise as a marker to help identify those at increased risk and for novel new treatment strategies in susceptible people with diabetes to protect them from kidney failure.
January 2007: You have heard of inhaled insulin and you may have heard of new techniques testing encapsulated insulin, but have you heard of insulin synthesized from plants? The Canadian firm SemBioSys Genetics announced that its proprietary plant-produced insulin made from the safflower plant has been shown to be indistinguishable from human insulin, namely Eli Lilly’s Humalin and U-S-P insulin, opening up a whole new potential source of insulin and reducing product costs by up to 40% or more. The company has been able to achieve a 1.2% accumulation of insulin in the seed protein of the plant, exceeding its commercial target. At this level of production, one acre of safflower would be enough to supply 2,500 patients with a year’s supply of insulin. The Canadian firm Cangene has been chosen to handle processing and purification of this new insulin which is targeted to hit market by 2010. You can read more about this new insulin on the news section of
Pharmaceutical industry and manufacturer - Pharmaceutical news, packaging and technology .
Thanks to Angela G, Maestro Participant, for bringing this to our attention! [I think this is DF's very own Ang from Winnipeg!] January 2007: Novo Nordisk announced January 31st that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NovoLog(R) (insulin aspart, Lantus) as a safe and effective treatment for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and their unborn children. Lantus is still NOT approved for use in pregnancy in Canada, but with this announcement and new evidence, it shouldn’t be too long before it is. The FDA category change was based on research done in 63 sites in 18 countries comparing the safety and efficacy of insulin aspart versus human regular insulin in the treatment of 322 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. Results showed that changes in A1C and rates of maternal hypoglycemia were comparable with the two insulins. The trial with insulin aspart showed improved outcomes for both mother and child in terms of fewer preterm deliveries, reduced risk of neonatal hypoglycemia, consistent low rates of major hypoglycemia and reduced risks to the fetus with pregnancy outcomes comparable to those in the human regular insulin arm of the trial.
