Issue Date: November 8, 2009
HealthSmart |
ALLYSON DICKMAN |
|
A vaccine for type 1 diabetes?
Each year, more than 15,000 children are diagnosed with type 1 (previously known as juvenile) diabetes. That means every day about 40 children find out they need regular insulin injections to keep their bodies functioning properly. Researchers now are in the early stages of developing an easier treatment for the disease.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is funding the development of an oral drug to control the autoimmune response in type 1 patients. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School hope to retrain immune cells so that they'll tolerate the body's insulin-producing cells instead of attack them. They have established a two-year plan to evaluate and test the drug, which one day may be used as a vaccine that would prevent at-risk individuals from ever developing type 1 diabetes.
Want to volunteer with JDRF? Its text-messaging program, DiabeTXT, gives advocates access to information about walks, conferences and other opportunities directly on their cellphones. To get involved and receive alerts, you can text ACTION to 56333.
|
