Is a cure really around the corner? [Archive]

ramrummy

10-17-2006, 10:57 PM

Only if around the corner means around the corner, down the street, over the bridge and onto the ferry. I think the cure will come with replacing the cells, and that will only come when the 'brains trust' realise that we don't want to clone our kids with diabetes, cancer, etc we just want them to be healthy. I know and understand the ethical reasons for not supporting stem cell research, but i wonder how many of the decision makers have kids with chronic diseases and conditions. Sorry vent over.

I think the near future is in diabetes management, the technology advances have been amazing, even in 5 years. I think that soemone is going to find the cause of diabetes by accident, just like most of the other 'discoveries', but without the research there can be no chance of that accident.

SueM

10-18-2006, 12:53 AM

Considering yu can have a medal for being on insulin for 50 and 75 years I wouldn't bank on a cure.
I have heard the same old thing for the last 41+ years "there will be a cure in 5 years".
More chance of pigs flying I suspect :)

JediSkipdogg

10-18-2006, 03:41 AM

I on the other hand am very hopeful. I see a stronger ecomony with a cure than without. Healthcare costs will greatly drop and everyone might be able to actually afford it. So I don't see the drug companies making money as the reason there isn't a cure. But that's just my opinion.

The reason I don't see a cure is diabetes is a complex disease and you are dealing with the most complicated organism on earth, the human body.

For type 1s you have to cure multiple areas. You first have to cure what killed the beta cells to begin with. If not, then in 5 years, one will be back on insulin and a full blown diabetic again. That is currently one reason that islet transplant doesn't have a higher success rate. I can't remember her name, but recently a doctor has successfully found what causes type 1 diabetes and stopped it in mice. She has not tried any human studies, but it took her a good amount of time to discover that part.

Then once you have what caused the diabetes gone, you now have to get islet cells back. How do you do that? Right now, the ONLY option is with highly dangerous (in terms of side effects) immunosupprecent/anti-rejection drugs. So instead of taking insulin every day, now you take all sorts of drugs that have dangerous side effects and if you forget any for one day, your body can reject the new islet cells and make you diabetic again. So the option to do without those is by a sense cloning or growing the cells (stem cell research) which are both highly controversial topics in the government.

For a type 2, a cure is easier and harder. It all depends on what the reason the one got diabetes was. If their pancreas is underproducing, then you somehow have to make it produce more. Which, the only option is a transplant, and you can't transplant an entire pancreas. The other problem is what if they have insulin resistance? How to you cause their cells to "open up" to accept the insulin more? That's another area where trouble is.

So I do see a cure in the future. Think of all the advancements in medical science we have seen. And 20 years ago, they thought sugar was the devil for diabetics, not until maybe 5-10 years ago have they seen differently. So fully understanding the disease to begin with is the first problem to overcome. Then after that, curing each area of the disease can come next for a hopeful complete cure.

Remember, medical science isn't an overnight item. And some of the biggest breakthroughs were found by accident and happened upon trying something else.

am1977

10-18-2006, 04:47 AM

That must be something doctors just say :frown:... I think I was told the same thing too when first dx'ed. But even then, I had trouble believing. I dunno, always the skeptic here :rolleyes:.

Saying that, I think we have made progress and advances in technology, so that's positive. Hopefully, there will be more to come in the near future.

JediSkipdogg

10-18-2006, 04:59 AM

That must be something doctors just say :frown:... I think I was told the same thing too when first dx'ed. But even then, I had trouble believing. I dunno, always the skeptic here :rolleyes:.

The thing is there's really no way to say when it will happen. Do you think the guy that did the first open heart surgery was sitting in his office one day and said..."I think in 5 years I'm going to cut someone's chest open and do surgery on their heart while they are still alive."

I highly doubt it, so they say a random number just to make people feel better and give them some hope. But in reality, it's just going to happen one day and it may be by a freak accident of mixing some chemicals together that for type 1s kill off what kills the islet cells and the promotes/starts growth of new islet cells.

Cyborg

10-18-2006, 05:03 AM

I think they will find a cure for type 1. Perhaps not a cure, but a vaccination. Just as they are starting to find cures for cancer...

E-NICE

10-18-2006, 05:07 AM

I have been married and a diabetic (Type1) for three years. Me and my wife plan on having kids soon, so the cure may or may not be there for me. That being said if it comes in time for my kids, that will be all I need. :wavey:

scara

10-18-2006, 05:52 AM

There seems to be so many promising avenues of research for a cure and all we need is for 1 of them to pan out...

I'm also surprised to keep hearing that people think that a cure won't come because of the $$ that companies make in pumps etc. Think of the money that would be made from a cure! All the companies out there making diabetes related supplies know that a cure is coming, I'm sure all of them would rather have a piece of that cash than somehow prevent the research from happening.

I could see it being a concern if all the research was done by one company, and that one company also made all the current treatment products... but that is not the case. Whoever gets a cure first will have 100% of the market... that's HUGE dollars and, if nothing else, that's their motivation to get a cure to the market.

camjen1

10-18-2006, 06:13 AM

JediSkipdogg

10-18-2006, 06:17 AM

Even if a cure was discovered tomorrow in reality just how long would it take for everyone to get the drug or procedure even done. Who would get first dibbs? Should the elderly get first dibbs or what about the newly diagnosed ones with no complications and what about those that are already suffering complications? Makes me wonder!

Personally, I think it will be pretty much just like the current islet transplant studies going on now. I'm not sure if they are still handled this way, but when they originally started, they ONLY gave them to people that had no other control methods possible and had extremely high A1Cs and numbers all over the charts.

I think that's who will go first and then possibly those with starting complications, then those newly diagnosed (so they don't have any problems to think about) and then maybe the rest of us.

But I say "Women and Children first Captain."

BriOnH

10-18-2006, 10:22 AM

rzrbks

10-18-2006, 10:48 AM

Is a cure really around the corner?

Yes, it's standing right between Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny.

parrotletzoo

10-18-2006, 12:57 PM

I believe in the next 5-10yrs there will be a functional cure. I would say I have a functional cure for the moment. after having an islet transplant, I'm no longer haivng symptoms. no longer need insulin, no longer have lows, but then who knows what will happen 5-10yrs down the road or even a year down the road. In order to "cure" diabetes they'll have to figure out how to retrain the autoimmune system to not attack any beta cells - good for prevention, and good for people that have had a transplant. not so good for type 1s with no beta cell function because their immune systems has already destroyed it.... stem cell research is the key imo but I could go on forever. lol so i'll just say that yes, i think there will be a cure.... someday. ;)

bonedog

10-19-2006, 12:00 PM

I think a cure is possible but even the best researchers don't know exactly when it will come.

Type IIs can often get off their medications with weight loss, diet, and a strict diet. They're even making a documentary about it:
Raw for 30 Days (http://www.rawfor30days.com/)
Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center (http://www.treeoflife.nu/diabetes.html)

Best Regards,
Aaron

RemJet

10-19-2006, 01:28 PM

jediskippdog,

You say that type 1 diabetes is a complex disease? maybe so but it is one of the more simple when it comes to autoimmune diseases/disfunction. All it is is that immune cells have attacked and targeted the beta cells in the pancreas. It has been found recently that the body continues to create these beta/islet cells even in type 1 diabetics (antibodies still show up in people who have had the condition for over 70 years). Its just that us type 1's keep getting these cells destroyed by the immune system. This makes perfect sense as the human body always fights to maintain homeostasis (to stay the same) the same reason why its difficult to lose or gain weight you have to shock the body with enough stimulus to get it to respond.

We may not know the exact cause of the disease, ie genetic disposition or from a foreign viral assualt but we know a lot more about the mechanisms of the disease and that to cure an autoimmune disease it is the immune function which must be corrected (treat the cause not the symptoms).

So for those of you who have been given false hope in the past (i.e. had doctors tell you that a cure was 5 years away 40 years ago) need to realise that the 5 years promised today means a heck of a lot more then the 5 years promised a long time ago when so much less was understood about diabetes.:thumbsup:

JediSkipdogg

10-19-2006, 01:34 PM

It has been found recently that the body continues to create these beta/islet cells even in type 1 diabetics (antibodies still show up in people who have had the condition for over 70 years).

I have more hope than many on this forum. Can you point me in the way of any information on that above? I have not heard a single thing about them replenishing even if someone has had type 1 for 20 years. So do you have any studies or sources that you could link me to about that? I'm not not believing you, just haven't heard that part yet. If that was true, then recreating islet cells would be pointless to research and all the time should be spent on killing what kills the islet cells to begin with...which a doctor just discovered in the past few months with mice and has killed what causes type 1s.

seacomp

10-19-2006, 01:42 PM

I started a couple of treads on this and related items. So have other people.

RemJet

10-19-2006, 02:52 PM

here's two quick links i just found

Cell Regeneration (http://www.diabetesresearch.org/Research/EmergingTechnologies/CellRegeneration.htm)

Diabetes In Control - Beta-Cells Regenerate Even In Type 1 Diabetes (http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2863)

but most of the information i've found on the subject has been from the labs of Denise Faustman and the other researchers like Anita Chong at the U of Chicago who have independently verified that beta cells are capable of regeneration. :)

DeusXM

10-19-2006, 03:37 PM

I have more hope than many on this forum. Can you point me in the way of any information on that above? I have not heard a single thing about them replenishing even if someone has had type 1 for 20 years. So do you have any studies or sources that you could link me to about that? I'm not not believing you, just haven't heard that part yet. If that was true, then recreating islet cells would be pointless to research and all the time should be spent on killing what kills the islet cells to begin with...which a doctor just discovered in the past few months with mice and has killed what causes type 1s.

There was a thread here about a drug trial that is taking place in 2 years' time or so. Basically it's a double-drug therapy - one is a very specialised immunsuppressant that prevents islet cells being destroyed (without compromising the immune system) and the other is a cell growth accelerator, which speeds up the growth of islet cells. They've both been tried independently on humans and they've been tried together on mice, reversing diabetes for up to something like 120 days after treatment stopped.

If the mechanism works as well as it did for mice (and there's no reason it shouldn't if they worked fine independently on people), there could really be a working cure in 5-10 years - granted, it'll mean having to take two tablets every day for the rest of your life, but that's better than the current alternative.

Otherwise, stem cell research should yield results in around 25 years or so - we're a bullet-burn away, I assure you, and no pharmaceutical company on earth is going to be able to stop us finding a cure. They simply don't have the leverage.

Put it this way - by the time I'm 50, I'm not expecting to have diabetes anymore. I'd rather get it cleared now so I've still got the youth to enjoy it, but right now I'm just trying to keep myself in the best shape possible so I can really enjoy my retirement.

E-NICE

10-20-2006, 05:33 AM

I am very hopeful. With all the different avenues of reseach there will probably be multiple cures taylored to each person's situation. I don't think people here are negative but diabetes is just a pain sometimes.

corwin

10-20-2006, 04:15 PM

There was a thread here about a drug trial that is taking place in 2 years' time or so. Basically it's a double-drug therapy - one is a very specialised immunsuppressant that prevents islet cells being destroyed (without compromising the immune system) and the other is a cell growth accelerator, which speeds up the growth of islet cells. They've both been tried independently on humans and they've been tried together on mice, reversing diabetes for up to something like 120 days after treatment stopped.

If the mechanism works as well as it did for mice (and there's no reason it shouldn't if they worked fine independently on people), there could really be a working cure in 5-10 years - granted, it'll mean having to take two tablets every day for the rest of your life, but that's better than the current alternative.

I'm taking part in a study that sounds exactly like the immunsuppressant you mentioned. As far as I know we don't have any drug that is proven to stop the immune system from killing beta cells and the furthest we got is clinical trials that hope to get just that. If this kind of drug existed it would mean that honeymooning people can have their honeymoon last forever and very early type 1s can stay off insulin. Not to mention that if it's true that the pancreas keeps creating beta cells and the immune system keeps killing them then this type of drug = cure. Few companies\organizations are trying very hard to develop this kind of drug, but as far as I know it's not out there yet.

DeusXM

10-20-2006, 04:48 PM

Diabetes In Control - University of VA Finds Possible Diabetes Cure (http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4090)

The two relevent drugs are Lisofylline and Exendin-4. This line of research is currently more interesting than stem cells.

corwin

10-20-2006, 05:40 PM

Lisofylline and Diapep277 are 2 drugs that are currently in clinical trials with the hopes that they can stop the immune system from attacking the beta cells. I'm in the trial for Diapep which as far as I could find is in more advanced stages. "Advanced" in this case is at least 2 years before even asking for FDA approval IF all goes well. Both drugs are at least few years from being released or even proven to be safe and effective in the long run. I agree that it's the most promising line of research but we have a long way to go.

Scratch

10-20-2006, 05:44 PM

JediSkipdogg

10-20-2006, 05:58 PM

Don't get my hopes up like that. But if that were to come to fruition, it could really make life a lot easier.

I estimate at least 5 years for either to really come to the prescription pad. First they have to try both on humans, and in 3 stages of clinical trials one after the other, and in each stage, you'd need a good amount of time for it to prove effective, I'd say at least 1 year in each stage. Then once the trials are done, they would have to go to the FDA to get them approved. And well, telling the FDA you have a cure that has no harmful side effects, is a little hard to do, so it may be on their desks for quite some time.

rmccully2000

10-21-2006, 05:19 AM

A mom on another board shared this helpful chart about the FDA drug approval process and timelines. It's one of the better ones I've seen. So 5 - 6 years from the time phase 1 trials begin is the estimate.

http://www.phrma.org/files/Approving%20New%20Medicines.pdf

I'm interested in the University of Virginia therapy also, but don't forget about the Faustman protocol. They will begin Phase 1 in humans in 2008. They are testing the first arm in a two arm therapy with a substance that has been in use for 80 years (BCG). The second arm will also likely use a drug that has already been available and tested for safety at similar dosage levels. There is already a generic version of BCG and it costs $11 a vial.

I hate to think about this, but what if they develop a vaccine first? Will they continue to spend research dollars for a cure for the people who already have type 1? If they are able to prevent new cases, will my son and everyone else with type 1 be out of luck?

Becky

Belinda

10-21-2006, 06:10 AM

I heard that when diagnosed in 1977. fI am still waiting but with much better ways of checking BS and controlling Diabetes than 35years ago:)

Stuboy

10-21-2006, 06:39 AM

I dont beleive there's anything "just around the corner" yet, certainly not in the next 5 years, but i've just been diagnosed in July, and im 22, so i do believe there will be a cure by the time i leave this world (natural causes permitting!)

It Ain't Over

10-21-2006, 11:01 PM

I had the good forture to travel down to Palm Springs and see Dr. Denise Faustman give a speech at what was essentially a kick for the fundraising to do the research on the cure.
Lee Iacocca was there and it really is a big deal. I have tried to follow this one and they are moving along, but with the extensive trials to run and the lack of any way to do the T cell counts quickly, she said 10 years out. That was a couple of years ago.
She noted that it was talking two graduate assistants two weeks to perform just one step in the lab work they required. But the drug she used, called BCG, is readily available and cheap. As I recall she scanned the literature looking for correlations with the development of type 1. She noticed a stight drop in the population of type 1's where this was administered. I don't recall what it is used for in medicine as such, but the effect is that is elicits the release of an imune system hormone, tumor necrosis factor, that destoys some particular white blood cells. She was able todirect this to the white blood cells that were attacking the Beta Cell in the pancreas.
The long end of the story was she stumbled onto a finding that the Beta Cells are regenerated even in type 1's from the spleen. So with the destruction of the bad white cells the Beta cells returned to function in about 90 days.

Stuboy

10-22-2006, 03:50 AM

Is this BCG the same BCG jab that we have in our school years? I dont know if US people have it, but i know UK do.

It Ain't Over

10-23-2006, 07:00 AM

The one and the same. BCG has been used as some sort of vaccination against tuberculosis.

Jackets

10-23-2006, 05:40 PM

(only scanned over the thread)
Yes, this is all so familiar.

I'm not sure of the economics of the matter, but I'm starting to suspect that Diabetes is too big of an industry to cure.

I'd like to visit just one of these labs doing research. What could they possibly be doing in there? My ignorant mind can't brainstorm what it looks like searching for a cure to a disease. But I can't help but get the mental picture of people in lab coats sitting around eating doritos from the vending machine, and not doing much else.

It's all just so slow paced. I always thought the best way to finish something was to DO it. It doesn't feel like they're DOing anything. All this research; and no results. Seeing things like this - Sernova's Research Following Latest NIH Guidelines for Type 1 Diabetes: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance (http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/061023/0175448.html) makes me feel as if we're living in a loop.

I think it'll take a genius person who just happens to be a type 1 diabetic, with that tenacious diabetic determination, to develop a nice and neat cure.

RWIII

10-26-2006, 06:34 AM

:) Considering yu can have a medal for being on insulin for 50 and 75 years I wouldn't bank on a cure.
I have heard the same old thing for the last 41+ years "there will be a cure in 5 years".
More chance of pigs flying I suspect :)

You know in 1956 when I got diabetes the Drs at that time told me and my mother that at that point with diabetes my life would be about 20 more years.So as a kid growing up I felt I had to do every thing in life that I seen all the other people around me do .I smoked 2 packs a day by the time I was 13 yrs old.I was a drinker of beer and hard liquer. I had even stop taking my insulin shots for about 4 months when I was 16 yrs old,because I was depressed at the time and how bad it was getting. The U.C. S.F. brought me back from that.But of course I did end up with complications I didn't have before. But over the years I have stopped all bad habits,because,it the medical community has made like baby steps in the right direction.I do wish they would move faster,but I have now had diabetes 51 yrs. I have all my limbs,I have leg pain all the time,I have had 2 angio-grams an angio-plastis only was one good.And now in the past year my kidneys are starting to shut down. But I keep smileling and tell everyone I still have hope for them to cure diabetes,and kidney problems.

archimeech

10-26-2006, 09:43 AM

I on the other hand am very hopeful...

I can't remember her name, but recently a doctor has successfully found what causes type 1 diabetes and stopped it in mice. She has not tried any human studies, but it took her a good amount of time to discover that part.

The lady in question is Denise Faustman and she's now being backed by Lee Iaccoca and the Iaccoca Foundation. Her results have been replicated by at least 2 other reputable labs and she's now on her way to establishing all her protocol and getting her equipment and staff for Phase I.

I donate to the Iaccoca Foundation and to Denise Faustman's research through the JoinLeeNow site and it's the only Diabetes research organization I donate to, 100% of the money goes towards research. (just my little plug for their effort)

Tim_Roy

10-28-2006, 08:57 AM

I think that soemone is going to find the cause of diabetes by accident, just like most of the other 'discoveries', but without the research there can be no chance of that accident.

There isn't a single cause of diabetes, there's multiple. It's not an infectious disease, it's a disease that results from various things. It's decidedly genetic. And since there's type 2s (who tend to get it after they're done having kids) and type 1s actually survive long enough to reproduce as well, it's not only not killed itself off, it's now likely INCREASING the genetic chances of future diabetics. Had Type I diabetes been the only kind, evolution would have done away with diabetes, except perhaps for the sort who get type 1 in their late teens or early twenties.

Now, besides the genetic causes, there's other causes that tend to work hand-in-hand with them. Could be virii. I can't say for sure whether the virii themselves take out the cells that create insulin or if it's the body's attempt to beat those virii that kills the cells. It's also entirely possible that the body's autoimmune response is mistaking the beta cells for something else.

I'm a diabetic. I've also got vitilago (white patches of skin/hair here and there). I suspect that both conditions are caused by auto-immune problems. My body seems to have attacked itself in both cases.