Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking and destroying the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood glucose. The result is that the body is no longer able to produce insulin, leading to increased blood glucose levels - which, in turn, can cause serious damage to all organ systems in the body.
There is currently no known cure or effective prevention for type 1 diabetes, and treatment requires multiple daily insulin injections for life.
The team at King's are developing a new drug called MultiPepT1De to counter the immune attack on beta cells while leaving the rest of the immune system intact. The experimental drug is made from a cocktail of short fragments of molecules, known as peptides.
These peptides are involved in the destructive immune response in type 1 diabetes, but the team believe it may be possible to introduce them in a form that switches off this destructive response. This could then 'reset' the immune system, stopping it from attacking the beta cells.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2012/News/WTVM055001.htm
There is currently no known cure or effective prevention for type 1 diabetes, and treatment requires multiple daily insulin injections for life.
The team at King's are developing a new drug called MultiPepT1De to counter the immune attack on beta cells while leaving the rest of the immune system intact. The experimental drug is made from a cocktail of short fragments of molecules, known as peptides.
These peptides are involved in the destructive immune response in type 1 diabetes, but the team believe it may be possible to introduce them in a form that switches off this destructive response. This could then 'reset' the immune system, stopping it from attacking the beta cells.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2012/News/WTVM055001.htm