I tried to post this in the Diabetes forum, but it just would not let me, so if a someone wants to move it....
Local Professor Begins Human Trials For Diabetes Cure - News Story - WESH Orlando
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The key to curing a disease that affects 21 million people in the U.S. could be found on your dinner table nearly every night.
One University of Central Florida professor may have finally unlocked the code to wipe diabetes completely off the map.
Dr. Henry Daniell and his team of 20 bio-medical researchers have worked for five years, experimenting with genetically modified lettuce and its affect on diabetes patients.
They have come up with what they believe is a cure for diabetes.
"This would be not only a cure, but also an inexpensive cure," Daniell said.
A person with diabetes is sentenced to a lifetime of needles and careful monitoring of their blood sugar levels.
"I believe that it's going to be a very significant advancement and so far there has been no permanent cure for diabetes," said Daniell. "This is the first time the root cause of the problem, the immune disorder, is tackled."
Genetically modified lettuce is grown in a lab at UCF.
A leaf is placed in a machine and injected with the human gene for insulin.
"We can really be happy that we have made progress that helps a society, especially large numbers of people," said Daniell.
For people living with diabetes, the find is a major breakthrough.
Daniell said he has been stunned by the response from his find.
He's received thousands of e-mails and phone calls, mostly from Florida residents.
Daniell first tested his insulin-producing lettuce on mice, and the results were shocking.
"By the end of the study, the diabetic mice had normal blood and urine sugar levels," Daniell said. "And their cells were producing normal levels of insulin."
These results occurred after just eight weeks of treatment.
Daniell said if human trials, which are now under way, are successful, it would impact millions of diabetics worldwide and provide a permanent and affordable cure for the disease.
Daniell's team has found a way to grind the lettuce down to a fine green powder that can be distributed in the form of a capsule, which helps regulate the dosage.
Daniell is currently conducting clinical trials with a major pharmaceutical company.
If all goes well, this cure for diabetes could be made available to millions of people with diabetes in four years.
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