Posted on 12/15/2006 8:44:37 AM PST by kellynla
In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease that affects millions of Canadians.
Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.
"I couldn't believe it," said Dr. Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children and one of the scientists. "Mice with diabetes suddenly didn't have diabetes any more."
The researchers caution they have yet to confirm their findings in people, but say they expect results from human studies within a year or so. Any treatment that may emerge to help at least some patients would likely be years away from hitting the market.
But the excitement of the team from Sick Kids, whose work is being published today in the journal Cell, is almost palpable.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Dr. Hans Michael Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the studies. "In my career, this is unique."
Their conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes, the most serious form of the illness that typically first appears in childhood, was solely caused by auto-immune responses -- the body's immune system turning on itself.
They also conclude that there are far more similarities than previously thought between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role in other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn's disease.
The "paradigm-changing" study opens "a novel, exciting door to address one of the diseases with large societal impact," said Dr. Christian Stohler, a leading U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of Maryland, who has reviewed the work.
"The treatment and diagnosis of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a dramatic leap forward because of the impressive research."
About two million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10% of them with Type 1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year.
Insulin replacement therapy is the only treatment of Type 1, and cannot prevent many of the side effects, from heart attacks to kidney failure.
In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to shift glucose into the cells that need it. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin that is produced is not used effectively -- something called insulin resistance -- also resulting in poor absorption of glucose.
The problems stem partly from inflammation -- and eventual death -- of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.
Dr. Dosch had concluded in a 1999 paper that there were surprising similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease. His interest was also piqued by the presence around the insulin-producing islets of an "enormous" number of nerves, pain neurons primarily used to signal the brain that tissue has been damaged.
Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, he and Dr. Salter used an old experimental trick -- injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the pancreatic sensory nerves in mice that had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.
"Then we had the biggest shock of our lives," Dr. Dosch said. Almost immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally "It was a shock ? really out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything about this."
It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the proper functioning of the islets. Further study by the team, which also involved the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, found that the nerves in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides, resulting in a "vicious cycle" of stress on the islets.
So next they injected the neuropeptide "substance P" in the pancreases of diabetic mice, a demanding task given the tiny size of the rodent organs. The results were dramatic.
The islet inflammation cleared up and the diabetes was gone. Some have remained in that state for as long as four months, with just one injection.
They also discovered that their treatments curbed the insulin resistance that is the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes, and that insulin resistance is a major factor in Type 1 diabetes, suggesting the two illnesses are quite similar.
While pain scientists have been receptive to the research, immunologists have voiced skepticism at the idea of the nervous system playing such a major role in the disease. Editors of Cell put the Toronto researchers through vigorous review to prove the validity of their conclusions, though an editorial in the publication gives a positive review of the work.
"It will no doubt cause a great deal of consternation," said Dr. Salter about his paper.
The researchers are now setting out to confirm that the connection between sensory nerves and diabetes holds true in humans. If it does, they will see if their treatments have the same effects on people as they did on mice.
Nothing is for sure, but "there is a great deal of promise," Dr. Salter said.
You are correct, but what is false hope, and what is a negative attitude that becomes self-fulfilling.
About 1800 the head of the US patent office offered to resign. He thought all the important things had already been invented.
The reason for my initial comment was that it appeared (to me) that someone was figuring it would not make it to the market (for 20 years) because the drug companies would not get the profits from this type of "cure".
The drug companies have to spend billions to get new drugs to the market. So... their focus is on profits. Those profits are responsible for almost all of the medical progress over the last 100 years. I want the focus to stay on profits. If anything is going to delay the "cure", (remember we do not know if it is a cure yet), that delay will be caused almost entirely by governmental regulation and legal liability concerns. it will cost many millions to test the "cure", determine proper dosage, etc.
If even one person has an adverse reaction, the drug companies will be liable for huge damages and government inspectors will swoop down on the company financing the clinical trials.
The newspapers will run articles about the research which is inspired by profits. A lot of silly people will complain to their legislators to punish the evil drug companies.
At that point the heroic socialist senators will pass more laws making it more expensive and even slower to get any drug to the market. Again all the blame will be put on the drug companies.
Without governmental regulations and legal liability concerns the scientists could start injecting people today.
Wow, that's quite a drop! Glad to hear that.
I haven't heard of any other studies yet either, but the the article that caught my eye was about the experiment with mice at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York in 2003. No actual clinical trials on humans had been done yet, but the mice data seemed very promising.
Went to Benfotiamine.org, read the testimonials and started taking it. Glad I did, because I believe I have slowed down my kidney problem enough to manage it for quite some time, although lowering my sugar had to have helped also.
Good luck with your child's condition, and thanks for the added info. It just might help some other FReepers out there.
That's the thing--I don't believe that this cure is real. I think it's just a story to get grant money. As others have said, they're always on the verge of a cure. It's the Fountain of Youth.
Way too cynical and pessimistic. No researcher goes to work saying "I hope we don't cure this disease, it would reduce my company's profits." Besides, much of the followup research will be done by nonprofit institutions.
Starting immediately, resources galore from private and public sources will be devoted to pursuing this research. I bet that within a year we will know if the therapy will work in humans. Great stuff.
I would love this to be true, BUT there is big money in diabeates and I wonder just with cancer and aids if they really want to find a full cure because the gravy trail will stop. I guess that is negative thinking, but someones I do wonder.
I just got my blood checked and the doctor told me that mine was 87. He told me that he wanted me to get that lower. What is a bad number for sugar. Am I close? He told me that I am on the border. Is he just very cautious?
Things could be better than you think.
Cynical views like yours are,when it comes to medicine,pretty common.But as one who worked along side of Nobel Prize winners for 20+ years (at a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School) I can assure you that there are many outstanding researchers in this country and others who,for reasons of fame,fortune,and/or a genuine desire to cure,are working on diabetes.
If and when it comes to pass that a genuine cure for diabetes is found,no person,group of persons or company will be able to suppress it...because the one(s) who discovered the cure,with the help of medical journals,medical school Deans and others...won't allow it.
Cynical views like yours are,when it comes to medicine,pretty common.
I would love to eat crow on this...seriously!!!!
That's a big assumption, that the cure will be found by the medical schools. Should the cure be found outside the control of the medical honchos, it will be suppressed to prevent the wrong sort of folks from getting credit. Nothing upsets the big wigs like being upstaged by an upstart.
My personal bet for a diabetes cure is the Marshall Protocol , it has shown success against diabetes already. And, since Dr Marshall is not a medical doctor, nor associated with a medical school, he's been threatened with blacklisting because he threatens the orthodox position of the current auto-immune big wigs.
I've already bet that it was a sarcoid cure, and I won that bet big time.
No I haven't but a lady that I work with is on it and she likes it, after the initial nausea side-effects are gone. I hear they are working on an extended release version that only requires a once a week injection. That would be sweet.
capsaicin can be ordered at online vitamin shops
It is not a matter of eating crow, it is a matter of not understanding how muych pressure there is to publish in the medical field.
No one can suppress a cure, not ever. People who talk about big money suppressing cures are absolutely ignorant of some basic facts.
1. I worked with NIH researchers for about five years. There were about twenty government PhDs heading up a number of cancer research projects. If any of those projects either contracts or grants had discovered anything promising there would have been a mad rush to grab the glory.
2. There are a number of pharmaceutical companies who invest big bucks ot find something that works. If the company finds something, they patent it, they are then allowed to make mega profits from their discovery. If their discovery cures one disease, they can then put their money into an infinite number of other diseases. This allows the company to be able to hire better researchers, to make more money on their stock, to pay their executives more money, etc. etc.
3. There are a number of medical schools who have a lot at stake to find a cure. This is big business from the academic standpoint. A nobel prize for finding a cure is heady stuff. It also guarantees a lifetime of huge profit from government grants, book publishing, attracting more and better students, etc. etc. etc.
4. There are a large number of independent charitable organizations who collect money and give it to independent researchers.
5. There are other governments all around the world, with their own research efforts. They only produce half the new drugs each year. America produces the other half, mainly because it encourages rampant discoveries.
There is no way to stop a cure from coming onto the market. You might be able to delay something, but only for a while. What is the incentive in delaying something which would make you rich beyond your dreams?
LOL!!!!
Gcruse, it looks like Tribune7 just burned you with a some capsaicin of his own.
Next time, you should be more naturally selective when using your theories. It's a jungle in here.
Despite my pride in American healthcare and research, and despite my disdain for Michael Moore-like fawning over socialist healthcare (which the Canadians have), I'm willing to give these Canadian researchers a chance. I'm not going to dismiss them merely because they are Canadian.
I doubt they're doing this to one-up American researchers or to make Michael Moore proud. And I doubt they're doing this only for Canadians. Diabetes is a human problem, not just a Canadian problem.
I'm sure they weren't thinking "Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away, now!"
“injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers”
Wow, chili peppers will cure what ails you?
My daughter was diagnosed when she was 11 as a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic. It’s incredibly tough on children and it broke my heart to see even younger children than my daughter who were insulin dependent.
The doctors told us 6 year ago they thought a cure would be in about 15 years so it looks like they’re on track.
I pray a cure is found and in the meantime they find better ways than having to shoot up insulin 4 or more times a day. The new inhalers look as a good step in that direction.
Well I can tell you that this will never see the market because too much money is at stake in diabetic treatment.
No Major diseases have aver been cured.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.