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April 15, 2005
A Vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes
British scientsts at the University of Bristol and King's College in London are developing a vaccine for infants they hope will prevent the onset of Type 1 diabetes.
The disease results from the destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called "islets”, by the body’s own immune system. The lack of insulin in turn causes hyerglycemia, an elevation of blood glucose levels that over time damages the heart, blood vessels, eyes and kidneys and leads to a host of complications.
The vaccine includes a protein molecule that forms a protective barrier around the body's islet cells against white blood cells. While testing on mice and human blood samples have given encouraging results, the drug won’t be “widely available” until 2015.
Posted by Diabetologica at April 15, 2005 1:43 PM