On Thursday we published our latest report, Prevention Will Not Lead To A Cure, and clarified the JDCA’s position on the issue. We are not against prevention research, but not if it comes at the expense of a type 1 diabetes cure, which is what we believe most donors who contribute their resources to the major foundations want.
There are some very good reasons why we believe a cure will not come from prevention research that does not explicitly target a cure as one of its main objectives.
To look at some historical examples, there are many diseases that have a prevention method, but preventive efforts have not led to a cure. Among them are Polio, Smallpox, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Chicken Pox, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, HPV.
The bottom line is, no effective prevention methods have been developed for type 1 or any other autoimmune diseases. There are also no practical cures for any autoimmune disorders, with the possible exception of hyperthyroidism. The JDCA has not found any established data to support a clear correlation between a prevention and a cure in autoimmune diseases. Since no autoimmune disease has been prevented, expecting a type 1 cure from prevention research is impractical and without precedent.
Since we cannot expect a cure for type 1 to come from research focused on prevention, we should also be very wary of funding projects focused on prevention with cure-donated money.
The JDCA estimates that prevention research allocations by the non-profits exceed amounts directed to Practical Cure research, as defined by the JDCA. As we have concluded in prior reports, Practical Cure research is an underfunded category as evidenced by the dearth of projects in clinical trials that could potentially meet the JDCA’s definition of a Practical Cure. The JDCA believes that only five such projects are currently in human clinical trials.
The conclusions we can form from these findings is that a type 1 diabetes cure and a prevention for type 1 are two different goals, and they are unlikely to result from the same research methods. We cannot continue hoping that general research and observations will eventually one day lead to a cure. This will not accelerate the development of a cure.
We must use our voices to encourage the major foundations to direct their research specifically on a type 1 cure, and make sure that that research is focused with a real objective and timeline in mind.
– Stoyan
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