The search for a cure: Juvenile diabetes
Dr. Portia Choi
By Portia Choi, MD
Every day in the United States, about 40 children are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It had long been believed that after the destruction of insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas of such children, the cells are gone forever.
However, recent clinical trials led by Dr. Denise Faustman suggest otherwise. It appears that the pancreas can be regenerated to begin producing insulin by applying doses of BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin), an 80-year-old tuberculosis vaccine. The recent human trial involving six patients – which followed six experiments on laboratory mice – was presented last month at the June 26 meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego, Calif.
The BCG works by elevating TNF (tumor necrosis factor) in the bloodstream. TNF is a protein of the immune system which blocks attacks on the pancreas by T cells. More trials are needed with higher concentrations of BCG, which will be possible only after permission is granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If successful, these trials will enable children with juvenile diabetes to enjoy what their cohort takes for granted: normal blood sugar levels.
Until then, there are medical devices to help sufferers of type 1 diabetes. The best of these is the insulin pump, which works by delivering insulin 24 hours a day and keeping the blood glucose levels in proper range. It works automatically, unlike traditional individual insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes will be the focus of my next article.
Dr. Choi is currently serving as president of the Kern County Medical Society. She is employed in the public sector and does not take private patients. However, she will entertain questions of a general nature (on preventive medicine, her specialty), submitted via Bakersfield Express.
Tagged as: BCG, children, diabetes, Dr. Denise Faustman, health, insulin, juvenile diabetes, Kern County Medical Society, type 1 diabetes
