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New Alternative Treatment on Horizon for Type 1 Diabetes Patients
An alternative to pancreas transplantation may be available to patients in the future to treat Type 1 diabetes, a study says.
New Potential Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes arises in childhood and kills the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin (beta cells), which normally regulates the blood’s glucose levels. Damage to the beta cells from Type 1 diabetes throws the process off. Glucose doesn’t move into your cells because insulin is not there to do it. Instead, it builds up in your blood and your cells starve.
Treatment for Type 1diabetes usually requires regular shots of insulin with meals, but often, that’s not enough. That’ when people turn to a pancreas transplant.
Researchers grew healthy beta cells to transplant into patients without having to wait for a pancreas or islet transplant.
The researchers were able to convert stem cells to act like healthy pancreatic beta cells. In the experiment, these cells were able to produce insulin when they interacted with blood glucose.
The study was published this month in “Nature Cell Biology.”
Signs and Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes signs and symptoms can appear relatively suddenly and may include:
- Bed wetting in children who previously didn’t wet the bed during the night
- Blurred vision
- Dry mouth
- Extreme hunger
- Fatigue and weakness
- Frequent urination
- Heavy, labored breathing
- Increased thirst
- Irritability and other mood changes
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pain in your belly
- Unintended weight loss
Risk factors for this condition are:
- Age: Although Type 1 diabetes can appear at any age, it appears at two noticeable peaks. The first peak occurs in children between four and seven years old, and the second in children between 10 and 14 years old.
- Family history: Anyone with a parent or sibling with Type 1 diabetes has a slightly increased risk of developing the condition.
- Genetics: The presence of certain genes indicates an increased risk of developing Type 1 diabetes.
- Geography: The incidence of Type 1 diabetes tends to increase as you travel away from the equator.
According to the American Diabetes Association, roughly 1.25 million people have Type 1 diabetes in the United States.
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This entry was posted on February 13th, 2019 at 03:59:00 pm by BlogMe@iaatpa.net (IAA) and is filed under Diabetes Awareness.