Here is an interesting question for today – is a “cure” really a cure if it still requires people to be dependent on insulin, even if it less than they did before?
This Fox13 news article talks about a research study going on at Optimum Clinical Research in Salt Lake City which claims it has promising results for people living with type 1 diabetes. Apparently,a 30-year-old man is being injected with stem cells which are reducing his insulin needs and improving his diabetic condition. The study is still in progress, and it is not clear whether it has the potential to fully remove the patient’s dependency on insulin, or at least free him of his daily diabetic regime.
The JDCA definition of a Practical Cure states that a cure should not require more than a reasonable pill and/or injection regimen.
Of course, people have different views on what a cure might mean to them, and a reduction in insulin dependency would certainly be beneficial health-wise. However, if most of the constraints of diabetes are still there, and if there is no guarantee of what the long-term results would be, it might not be too accurate to be promising a cure, when this research might simply be another form of treatment.
It should also remind us that when advocating for a cure, we must also be precise in what a cure would mean. By living with type 1 diabetes, we are the real ‘experts’ when it comes to knowing what a cure-like lifestyle would be. It is up to us to inform the diabetes foundations and advocate for what we believe.
– Stoyan
Advertisement
