Need some advice...

[ATL]

I've been looking at all the methods of treating Type I and II diabetes like the insulin pumps, the medi-jector VISION system, pens and even the Exubera inhalation system which is in trials. The sad part is that I see potential problems with all of these techniques...I wanted to get a feel for what you guys think of the current technology...some of my family members have diabetes, so if I'm pre-diabetic, then I wanted to understand from early on what the best type of treatment is.

I was talking to my friend in college the other day and he told me about their cool concept for diabetes treatment...it involved "gene therapy" where Type I and late stage Type II diabetics would receive an injection that would allow their cells to produce insulin, and then would take everyday tablets to activate their new insulin producing capability. I thought it was incredible ! The sad part is that it was just a concept they had for some class, but who knows ? What do you guys think ? Maybe someday someone will develop something like this...

[psilocybin]

that would be a dream come true. maybe one day. im on the goold old pens right now....i know its just me but i dont know if i would enjoy being hooked up to a pump all day everyday...but yet i definately coould get used to it... plus my insurance company wont cover a pump =[

[JediSkipdogg]

Right now there are numerous methods of treatments, all with advantages and disadvantages.

Insulin shots Pros:
~The original method.
~Most widely available method. Supplies can be bought at an drug store.
Insulin shots Cons:
~Changes of hitting blood veins/vessels
~You have to carry seperate vials of insulins from the needles
~Require both long acting and short acting, so two seperate vials

Pen Pros:
~All in one unit
Pen Cons:
~Must carry two pens, both long and short acting

Exubera Pros:
~Great for those afraid of needles
Exubera Cons:
~Unknown on long term effects to the lungs
~Not effective if one has any lung problems or becomes sick from a cold

Insulin Pumps Pros:
~Always with you
~Easiest form of eating extra, as you don't have to give extra shots for more insulin
~Most accurate basil rate patterns, can mimic the body almost perfectly
Insulin Pump Cons:
~Always attached
~Some people have problems from scarring, long term effects are really unknown still
~Different infusion set needles can sometimes scare a person

Islet Cell Transplant Pro:
~No need for insulin for a period of time
Islet Cell Transplant Con:
~Unknown on long term effects
~Most require the candidate to take anti-rejection drungs instead of insulin
~Most have actually gone back on insulin at one point
~Private insurances won't pay. Most subjects so far have been test subjects and had surgery paid for by research money

We are definitely making progress. I just gave the brief pros and cons of each of the above. There are still alot more that can be said. As for any magical pill that exists, sorry, but there won't be any for a long time. Type 1 diabetes is the body killing off insuling producing islet cells. And a pill can't grow those back, a pill could just kill whatever is killing the islet cells, but an operation to replace them would still be needed. As for type 2s, it is usually the inability to produce enough insulin (by way of working at full capacity) or the body not absorbing the insulin effects fully, which is already done by some pills now.

As for an injection to cause the cells to produce insulin, not sure how an inject can revive something that is dead. And then taking pills to keep them producing insulin really isn't much of a cure from what we have now.

[ATL]

I'll check with my friend to get some more details about how they think the process would work...but you raise some excellent points...

[DeusXM]

The real holy grail of diabetes treatment is a little bit further than what you were suggesting. The real cure comes from successfully recreating islet cells from the application of cloned stem cells. Utimately the goal is to create stem cells based on the patient's genetic material. When these are injected into the pancreas, they will recreate islet cells. No further drugs are needed.

However, there are two problems with this form of therapy as yet. 1 - we haven't been able to successfully clone stem cells in such a way that we can actually use them like this just yet. We're probably about 15 years away from getting there. 2 - even if we are able to recreate the islet cells, current theory suggests that these same cells are actually destroyed by the body by precisely the same mechanism that caused T1s to develop the condition in the first place. That's the real stumbling block, and it's even speculated that if we could inhibit that mechanism, the body might be able to regrow islet cells of its own accord without any further interference.

As yet, the best forms of treatment for diabetes in T1s remain insulin injections and insulin pumps. All other alternatives are largely ineffective. The inhaler system is very much a dead end and a prime example of marketing divisions totally and utterly misunderstanding what people with diabetes actually need. I'm sorry to say this, but if you develop T1 and want to keep the use of your eyes and legs, you will need to have needles stuck in you, one way or another.

[duck]

Let me be the terrible voice of pessimism (though I SWEAR in real life, I am not nearly this ratty): Insulin was discovered in 1921, and this is how far we've gotten in 85 years of treating this disease???

[JediSkipdogg]

Let me be the terrible voice of pessimism (though I SWEAR in real life, I am not nearly this ratty): Insulin was discovered in 1921, and this is how far we've gotten in 85 years of treating this disease???

And a heart transplant is a very simple operation. Yet the first heart transplant wasn't till 1967. Today it's a common operation with nothing that couldn't be done 200 year agos. Islet cell transplants have only been a major item in the past 2 years. Although the first ones were conducted it 1977, it was unknown back then why they continually died after being transplanted. Only recently have they found ways to get them to last more than a year after the transplant. So progress is being made. If we could predict what causes every medical problem, there would be no need for any medications and everyone could take one pill every morning to give them the needed vitamins and they could live to be 100 years old easily. But we haven't discovered that, the body is made of cells, and cells come in millions of formations to produce different reactions to each other. Just like in real like. Think of diseases as segration, in that cells don't like each other so they fight when together and only one side wins.

[DeusXM]

Be fair, we've come leaps and bounds since 1921. We didn't even know DNA existed until 1947 and stem cells have really only been looked at in the last 10 years or so because the technology simply hasn't existed. And that's got nothing to do with pharmaceutical companies blocking research or anything like that.

Similarly, insulin treatments have drastically improved since 1921. The principle might remain the same, but that's because the principle works. It's like criticising using antibiotics to treat bacterial infections on the grounds that we discovered them 80 years ago. The actual insulins we use now are totally different - they're much more flexible, you don't need to use a needle you could knit with to inject, and I haven't even begun to touch on the myriad of things that have only appeared in the last 10 years which most of us couldn't even imagine living without.

The cure is coming and it will be available - it's just going to take another 25 years or so at least. As I've said before, we already know the theory of how to cure diabetes, we just haven't managed to put it into practise yet.

And if you're worried about people blocking research, I'd suggest you should be far more concerned with what the US government is lobbying for in the UN, as opposed to any pharmaceutical company.

[am1977]

I know that they are currently working on different ways of "using" insulin. My sister's friend is a biophysicist (I think :confused: ) and she works for a lab that is currently developing an insulin that can be swallowed as a pill. This pill would be covered with a protective coating, to protect it from not being digested, as insulin would normally be.

It sounds like an interesting concept, and would make Diabetes a little easier to manage than relying on syringe and insulin vials. I know it's not a cure, but I think it's encouraging that scientists and researchers are still trying to find ways to manage this disease easier and better. :top:

[duck]

The US govt. isn't the evil entity here...I am just saying for all the many groups, associations, reasearch consortiums, governments, movements and FABULOUS ideas we have had in 85 years, THIS is as good as it gets? THIS?

Meh, maybe I need to go shovel some more snow... :dontknow:

[JediSkipdogg]

The US govt. isn't the evil entity here...I am just saying for all the many groups, associations, reasearch consortiums, governments, movements and FABULOUS ideas we have had in 85 years, THIS is as good as it gets? THIS?

Meh, maybe I need to go shovel some more snow... :dontknow:

85 years ago we didn't even have computers to make the advanced products we are using now. Also, we couldn't examine cells that are microscopic to the human eye and do an treatment as advanced as an islet cell treatment without computers. So part is just with the technological world around it.

[ATL]

From what I understand, their project goal is to create basically a better version of current treatment, where you'd get an injection once every 2 years or so and then would just need daily tablets to control insulin production...do you guys see this as a much better alternative to current technology ? Granted it's all just a concept, but with the re-emergence of gene therapy, it seems as if it could be a possible option...

[DeusXM]

The US govt. isn't the evil entity here.

Actually, it is. The United States is currently trying to get the United Nations to ban research on embryonic stem cells, which represent our best chance of finding a cure.

From what I understand, their project goal is to create basically a better version of current treatment, where you'd get an injection once every 2 years or so and then would just need daily tablets to control insulin production...do you guys see this as a much better alternative to current technology ?

Not at all. The problem isn't the injections. The problem is living day-to-day with condition, having to count carbs, be hyperaware of what you eat, how much exercise you've done, dealing with hypos....seriously, the actual 'treatment' part of diabetes is like brushing your teeth every day.

Any project that seriously wants to improve the lives of people with diabetes HAS to find a cure. No other option is worth the time or the money. With pumps, instant BG testing and genetically engineered insulins, there simply aren't any new options left in treatment aside from delivery mechanisms. The only possible 'treatment' option that remains (as opposed to a cure) is a closed loop insulin pump system that is basically an artificial pancreas embedded in the body that can be installed and then forgotten about.

In fact, I'm a firm believer that anyone who diverts funds away from working on a cure to develop things like new inhalers or testing devices should be just taken out and shot because they're deliberately standing in the way of helping people. They might have good intentions, but the act of delaying a proper cure just for the sake of bringing out some nice little device that doesn't actually solve the problem once and for all is just pure and utter evil.