Diabetes could be cured as scientists find cause of disease

[Northerner]

Diabetes could be cured after scientists discovered that toxic clumps of a hormone stop cells producing insulin.

Scientists at Manchester University have found that both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are driven by the same underlying mechanism.

The findings suggest that both forms occur when the hormone amylin begins to clump together, surrounding cells, and preventing them from producing insulin.

Insulin is essential for moving sugar from the blood stream into muscles and fatty tissue to provide energy. But too little insulin allows dangerous levels of glucose to build up in the blood, causing damage to the heart kidneys, eyes and nerves.

However the new finding could pave the way for drugs which stop the amylin build-up in the first place or dissolve clumps which are already present.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...ured-as-scientists-find-cause-of-disease.html

Sounds interesting 🙂 I'll give 'em 10 years! 😉

 

[MacG3]

Never trust scientists! I've been waiting 39 years for those buggers to invent hover boots and they still haven't done it yet 😡

 

[KookyCat]

Interesting stuff, I've read about that theory before but I'm not entirely convinced in a couple of areas. There's a chicken and egg issue, does the diabetes cause the amylin to clump or do the clumps cause the diabetes, the research I read suggesting the former was more convincing, but I will watch with interest!

 

[Northerner]

Interesting stuff, I've read about that theory before but I'm not entirely convinced in a couple of areas. There's a chicken and egg issue, does the diabetes cause the amylin to clump or do the clumps cause the diabetes, the research I read suggesting the former was more convincing, but I will watch with interest!

It's interesting, apparently amylin is produced in the pancreas also with a ratio on 1:100 of insulin. In Type 2, insulin resistance leads to greater production on insulin to counter the effects, leading also to a greater production of amylin. Often, in T2, the beta cells/insulin production decrease over time - perhaps it's due to the prior over-production of amylin?

 

[HOBIE]

Hope the "Boffins " keep going ! Good luck to them 🙂

 

[robert@fm]

According to 1960s wisdom, by now we should all have had flying cars and tinfoil suits. 🙄 Still, at least some people have the hats. 😉

 

[bill hopkinson]

So how long until anti-amylin?

 

[KookyCat]

It's interesting, apparently amylin is produced in the pancreas also with a ratio on 1:100 of insulin. In Type 2, insulin resistance leads to greater production on insulin to counter the effects, leading also to a greater production of amylin. Often, in T2, the beta cells/insulin production decrease over time - perhaps it's due to the prior over-production of amylin?

The principle line of thought seems to be that there are more types of diabetes than currently defined, but under the umbrella of two major types, namely autoimmune and amyloid reactive (they use a much more scientific label 🙄). In the amyloid type the clusters cause a reaction leading to beta cell death, some folk react quickly to the clusters and have an initial level of beta cell death that makes insulin a requirement quickly, and other folk have a slow burning reaction to the clusters and suffer more beta cell death events as the amount of amylin increases (along with the amount of insulin due to insulin resistant), hence the gradual reduction in insulin production leading to insulin dependence. The scientists who are researching it believe (mostly) that the amyloid type is a genetic mutation, and the fast reactors are dominant and the slow reactors are recessive. Sounds a bit like type 1 and 1.5 to me, as in Big Bang reaction or slow burning reaction. So for the slow burners solve the insulin resistance and you effectively solve or halt the destruction. This theory also sort of explains the confusion with amylin and type 1, because theoretically type 1 could be either autoimmune or amyloid. The bit I'm confused by (well the major bit) is the part age plays in it all, none of them have a convincing explanation of how either of the fast burners (autoimmune or amyloid) happen in adults. More reading required 🙄

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for that KC 🙂 I found this also (I remember HelenM mentioning this a while ago but can't find her more detailed and extensive references):

http://dtc.ucsf.edu/types-of-diabetes/type1/understanding-type-1-diabetes/what-is-type-1-diabetes/

I have often wondered if I am a Type 1b, since I stopped needing a basal insulin 2.5 years ago and my bolus insulin can go as low as 10 units per day. I'm sure if I was doing more running it could go down further, but I keep hitting barriers because my body is now old and decrepit. 😉

I don't think I have any African or Asian heritage though

 

[bill hopkinson]

I'm sure if I was doing more running it could go down further, but I keep hitting barriers because my body is now old and decrepit.

Maybe you keep hitting barriers because you need glasses?
😉