Drug Cocktail May Reverse Type 1 Diabetes
According to the The Independent, scientists at La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in San Diego have developed a cocktail of two different drugs which they say can reverse diabetes.
The combination of a monoclonal antibody (to settle the body’s immune system) with a peptide (acting as a vaccine to protect the cells that produce insulin) showed more long-term effects in lab mice than either therapy had shown by itself in human studies. In most of the mice that were tested, diabetes was actually reversed.
The cocktail itself has so far only been tested in animals, but each component is already being tested in human clinical trials. The treatment is for Type 1 diabetes. The antibody is taken orally, while the peptide is administered by nasal spray.
The research team, under the direction of Matthias von Herrath, hopes to begin human trials of the drug cocktail later this year, upon approval from drugs safety regulators.
“The combinatorial approach doubled the efficacy in laboratory mice - with fewer side effects than using either one alone,” says Dr. von Herrath. “The diabetes never recurred in the lifespan of the mice.”
(via The Independent)
1 opinion for Drug Cocktail May Reverse Type 1 Diabetes
brent Pittman
Feb 26, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I am hopeful for a cure for type 1 diabetes and would be willing to try it myself, so hope it works
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