The nervos system and Diabetes

[ant hill]

I have just done some Googling and found this aticle in the National Post. (http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=a042812e-492c-4f07-8245-8a598ab5d1bf&k=63970) It seems promising.

In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's nervous system helps trigger diabetes.

What do you think? Plauseable??

[NoraWI]

I had read about this research before. The original results were revealed on December 2006. I wonder what happened in this research over the interim year since the article says they were planning to begin human trials.

[REDLAN]

To create an animal model they typically use a strain of specially bred mice called NOD mice - these mice are particularly prone to developing various autoimmune diseases and in particular autoimmune diabetes. In NOD mice females are particularly prone to developing diabetes. The autoimmune destruction appears similar to type 1 in humans, which is why they are used so much.

sounds promising...

but type 1 is a fairly specific autoimmune disease, and while type 1 can be associated with other autoimmune diseases, it's not to the same extent as in these mice. Also type 1 does in humans does not have such a marked sex differentiation.

so in english for everyone who has given up hope...

MICE aren't PEOPLE

chances of replicating this result in humans?

slim to none.