8月7日
Fending Off Type 1 Diabetes
Research aims to stave off diabetes by tripping up the immune system with the help of mouse cells
Scientists at the Pacific Northwest research Institute (PNRI) in Seattle, Washington, will be part of a national effort to see if they can stop type 1 diabetes-or at least delay its progression-by derailing the immune cells that attack the body’s insulin producers.
The experimental therapy “has a reasonable shot at being the first building block toward a cure,” said Dr. Bill Hagopian, director of PNRI’ s work on the therapy. In early trials, the treatment has enabled patients’ bodies to continue making a portion of the insulin they need for up to two years after diagnosis.
Disease from childhood through adult life
Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile diabetes, afflicts more than 1 million people in the United States. It develops when the immune system destroys the cells that produce insulin, which the body needs to process glucose, a form of sugar.
Most cases of type 1 diabetes develop in childhood or young adulthood, and patients become dependent on injected insulin for the rest of their lives. Complications include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney damage and amputations. Many sufferers have shortened lives.
Rationale behind the research
Scientists in Seattle and four other cities are testing the notion that if they treat patients within about six months of a diabetes diagnosis, they can prevent destruction of all the insulin-producing “beta” cells. “We want to get in there early to extend the ‘honeymoon’ phase,” when about 10to25 percent of the patient’s beta cells are alive and still functioning, Hagopian said.
The treatment would not be effective for the more-common type 2 diabetes, which usually begins in adulthood and affects more than 19 million people in the Untied States. It is not caused by an immune system problem but develops when the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin, usually due to excess consumption of highly glycemic foods.
Specialized Terms
Immune system (n) a system that protects the body from foreign substances and disease-producing organisms
Amputation (n) a surgical removal of all or part of a limb beta cell (n) a cell that produces insulin in the hormone-producing cell clusters in the pancreas
Glycemic (adj) relating to the amount of sugar in the blood
Vocabulary Focus
Trip up (v) to cause someone to make a mistake
Derail (v) to prevent a process from succeeding
Shot (n) an attempt to achieve something
Building block (n) a single, undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of an adult
Juvenile (adj) relating to a young person who is not yet old enough to be considered an adult
Honeymoon phase (n) a short period at the beginning of a situation when things are good
Pancreas (n) an organ in the body that produces insulin and substances which help to digest food so that it can be used by the body
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