Four Possible Paths Towards Freedom from Diabetes

For several decades now, much research has been made on a disease that has debilitated many - diabetes. Research on type 1 and type 2 diabetes has produced amazing and genuine progress in terms of a real understanding of the disease as well as advancements on how it is treated.

However, much of this new knowledge is fairly unknown to most people. And while there currently is no way to fully cure diabetes, several methods of treatment have proved successful in controlling and treating both types. Type 1 diabetes researchers have made a number of significant advancements with several potential cures being successfully used to stop the progression of the disease.

For type 1 diabetes patients, a pancreatic transplant can free one of the need for insulin injections that he used to routinely have to put up with. In most cases, though, the patient still needs to take immunosuppressive medications.

Another potential cure is the use of exogenous beta cells to treat diabetes. However, in most cases a side effect of the patient's immune system attacking these cells has occurred causing the need for long term use of immunosuppressive medications. A similar method of tissue transplant to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes has been used involving stem cells. While this method has a lot of potential as a cure for diabetes, the problem of the immune system attacking transplanted cells also applies to stem cells.

Then, there is also the use of nanotechnology. With this new innovation, microscopic sensors are implanted into the body. These sensors routinely monitor the patient's blood sugar levels and can inject insulin into the blood stream to control diabetes. A patient can eventually be free from the disease without having to resort to an operation or having to use long term medication. However, though nanotechnology is really a leap forward in terms of treating diabetes, much of it remains in the theoretical aspect. Scientists still have to make more research on the technology.

A fourth treatment for type 1 diabetes is the simultaneous use of pro-insulin peptides and anti-CD3 antibodies. This tandem has proven effective in reversing type 1 diabetes in animals. What is exciting is that the two therapeutic medicines were able to reverse type 1 diabetes for as long as a year or more. Plans are underway to test the effectivity of this treatment on humans.

What makes this last treatment the most promising as a potential diabetes cure is that it teaches the body's immune system to tolerate beta cells in the pancreas rather than attacking them.

As you can see, medical science and research has made plenty of headway in the treatment of diabetes. Although there is still a lot to do, you can be assured that an effective cure for diabetes would soon be underway.