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Human Clinical Trials To Begin On Drug That Reverses Diabetes In Animal Models

Zothecula writes: A study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has shown that verapamil, a drug widely used to treat high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and migraine headaches, is able to completely reverse diabetes in animal models. The UAB team will now move onto clinical trials to see if the same results are repeated in humans.

140 comments

  1. What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    ....moderation?

    1. Re:What's the name of the drug? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Well, this isn't quite a new low in first posts. After all, Golden Girls, Gaping nether parts and blatant misspellings are just rampant in our attempt to be the first to reply to these important and challenging topics.

      But the drug's name, verapamil, is the 13th word in TFS. How long does that take to read?

      Slow down Cowboy! We're here all day!

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:What's the name of the drug? by the_B0fh · · Score: 4, Informative

      You are missing OP's point, which is type II diabetes is typically a lifestyle/choice disease. Moderation as in, moderate eating, exercise, etc.

      However, OP missed something from the article, this isn't type II, but type I diabetes!

    3. Re:What's the name of the drug? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Oh, that kind of moderation.

      Would never occur to me to use the work in that particular context.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    4. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, thanks. Someone could have bothered to put that in the summary...

    5. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You are missing OP's point, which is type II diabetes is typically a lifestyle/choice disease. Moderation as in, moderate eating, exercise, etc.

      However, OP missed something from the article, this isn't type II, but type I diabetes!

      But this isn't for Type 2. It's for Type 1... and it's been proven that moderation doesn't work for either. The disease creates the cravings that lead to the weight gain.

    6. Re:What's the name of the drug? by armanox · · Score: 1

      Actually, if you're a type 1, continued eating without insulin will cause massive weight loss. Diabetic Ketoacidosis sucks.

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    7. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yeah. Before insulin was discovered, Type I diabetes was a death sentence.

      You would effectively starve to death within a year of symptoms showing up, regardless of how much you ate. (IIRC, actual starvation could prevent/slow the progress in some way)

      However, once you've been on insulin therapy for a while, eventually you'll be in trouble within hours of insulin becoming insufficient. (An especially big problem for pump users - people using long-acting insulins like Lantus probably will have 1-2 days before they're in serious trouble after stopping administration of insulin.)

      This reminds me of rumors of studies a decade or so ago involving administering long-acting insulin to diabetics in their "honeymoon period" (After diagnosis and starting insulin therapy, in many cases a diabetic's requirements for injected insulin will drop to near zero after not too long, but this only lasts for a few months after it starts) - reducing load on the pancreas seemed to prolong the period, allowing them to rely on their pancreas to handle meals and such.

      Of interest is the "52 people between the ages of 19 and 45 that have received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes within the previous three months" - That's a VERY rare category of people. The most interesting is that 3 months is typically within that "honeymoon period". Diagnosis of Type I diabetes that late in life is very uncommon (which is why Type I is often called juvenile diabetes). There's also the fact that this might be far less effective on diabetics who have had the disease for years, who basically have no remaining beta cells. (In most cases, Type I diabetes in mice is artificially induced - in humans the root cause is that the immune system attacks beta cells, however, this might allow at least some of the cells to survive the onslaught by preventing a failcascade due to the cells being overworked.)

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    8. Re:What's the name of the drug? by eneville · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's not healthy if you're diabetic. The opposite, having a high blood sugar for too long will cause major issues, blindness, gangrene etc.

    9. Re:What's the name of the drug? by chuckugly · · Score: 1

      TFA states this is for type 1.

    10. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      20 year Type 1 diabetic (LADA) here.

      In short, the first poster didn't read the article and reflects the common level of ignorance on this topic.

      There is more than 2 types of diabetes,

      A lot of what is considered type 1 diabetes is a constellation of diseases that have a complicated relationship with blood sugar levels, beta cell death and the immune system.

      What is normally called "type 1 diabetes" occurs at birth and is an immune system defect that shares a mechanism in common with other auto immune diseases which include:

      1- Rheumatoid Arthritis
      2- Multiple Sclerosis
      3- Scleroderma
      4- Ulcerative Colitis
      5- sjogren's syndrome

      The above diseases along with "vanilla Type 1 diabetes" can happen to anyone and are not caused by any lifestyle choice.
      There is another clinical trial using adjuvant therapy to reverse type 1 diabetes using a drug that has been in common use to inoculate against tuberculosis and to treat bladder cancer (one of the most curable cancers) since the 1920s. The drug is cheap and would be a game changer for the above diseases once the dosing schedule is worked out to reverse the auto-immune component of the disease.

      There is another type of "type 1 diabetes" that occurs in adolescence and early adulthood that is very similar but has characteristics in common with type 2 diabetes:
      this is normally referred to as "Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults" or LADA
      There is an autoimmune component, type 2 diabetes drugs that increase insulin sensitivity can help in early onset, but not enough to stop the patient from having to eventually inject insulin in order to survive. In a lot of cases doctors will prescribe insulin therapy and type 2 diabetes drugs such as Metformin to reduce insulin resistance and deal with some of the dangerous effects of such a disease on the body (kidney, retina, nerve and cardiovascular damage) that can be caused by chronic fluctuating blood sugar levels. The drug being investigated here (in the article) would probably be targeted at LADA, as it does not appear to address the auto-immune component of this type of diabetes. This still leaves out the problem of the auto-immune attack on the beta cells, so it would not be a cure, most likely but just another treatment that can save some beta cells.

      type 2 diabetes is a complex issue and can be caused by lifestyle, but also can manifest due to infections, Liver disfunction, And,believe it or not an overactive pancreas that secretes too much insulin over time causing a situation of fatty liver, high cholesterol, heart disease and eventually the other issues due to high blood sugar.

      I actually had a boss who, when I had hypoglycemia, walked up and snatched some of my emergency glucose treatment, out of my hand and gave me a self righteous attitude "You're eating candy! that is Why you have diabetes!" and he totally didn't understand when I filed a HR complaint against him and schooled him that,

      1- My blood sugar was low
      2- I take care of my disease and he is NOT educated on MY situation
      and
      3- He almost got punched in the face (I would have pleaded temporary insanity, per the twinkie defense)
      4- My diet, diet decisions and my food are NONE of his BUSINESS!

      There is SO much bad information out there concerning type 1 diabetes and so many ignorant individuals who just have no clue what is going on with this disease that get self righteous (Based on their little cartoon model of the world) about stuff they know nothing about.

      I have spent 20 years studying how to manage this disease out of a grave necessity to do so to facilitate my survival.

      People freak out when they find out that I workout 3 times a week, weight training and running.( I still can run a 5 minute mile at age 41!)
      They also give me attitude when they find out that, due to my high metabolism, I eat every 2 hours (yes I eat 8 meals a day) and consume close to 4000 calories a day. I have to do this to maintain a healthy BMI with my lifestyle activity (I am a

    11. Re:What's the name of the drug? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      maybe it's the weight gain that leads to the hunger! (IE, due to hyperinsulemia the energy consumed is being partitioned to the fat cells, rather than being available for the rest of the body to use -- thus the constant hunger, despite eating more than enough calories)

    12. Re:What's the name of the drug? by budgenator · · Score: 1

      Diabetes mellitus type 1 (also known as type 1 diabetes, or T1DM; formerly insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes) is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Diabetes mellitus type 1

      Definitions change over time and new and more accurate diagnostic tests make assumptions of the past irrelevent. People often develope many auto-immune diseases later in life, the same thing in diabetes shouldn't be too surprising, likely many type I were confused with type IIs in the past simply because we didn't have tests to accurately differentiate them.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    13. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      fixing one of the feedback loops goes a long way to fixing type2 diabetes as well. All the pithy remarks doesn't help if your body is screaming at you "eat something damnit!!!" and starts undergoing the same sicknesses exhibited by starvation.

    14. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      maybe it's the weight gain that leads to the hunger! (IE, due to hyperinsulemia the energy consumed is being partitioned to the fat cells, rather than being available for the rest of the body to use -- thus the constant hunger, despite eating more than enough calories)

      Imagine being a heroine addict. Then imagine having to quit your addiction while there's a heroin vending machine 30feet from your desk that accepts quarters. That's the situation people with this disease are in.

    15. Re:What's the name of the drug? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 2

      I'm addicted to heroines too, my favorite is Elsa.

      (kidding.) Yes, I know the feeling. Mom: diabetic, Sister: diabetic. Grandparents: diabetic. Me:pre-diabetic.

      Zero carb dieting is the only thing that alleviates the constant panicky cravings for food when the hypoglycemia hits.

    16. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am 35 and was diagnosed with type 1 this year.

    17. Re:What's the name of the drug? by sjames · · Score: 2

      Of interest is the "52 people between the ages of 19 and 45 that have received a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes within the previous three months"

      I imagine minors are excluded based on the many legal issues of research on minors rather than an expectation that it can't work on younger patients.

    18. Re:What's the name of the drug? by sjames · · Score: 1

      Actually, it can be even worse. Unlike heroine addicts who can (from a medical standpoint) choose never to self-inject anything again, type II diabetics don't have the option of just not eating anything ever again.

    19. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heyyyy, guess what, moderation has zero effect when your body decides that it doesn't want to respond to insulin.

      Things like artificial sweeteners worsen insulin resistance in people, often causing type 2 diabetes. Artificial sweeteners also cause things like altzheimers, parkinsons, dimentia due to their detrimental effect on mitochondria.

      People who have been in accidents and can no longer exercise regularly, people with malfunctioning thyroid glands often end up as type 2 diabetics as well, even with healthy diets.

      So while yes, eating things in moderation *can* help, it isn't a cure all or 100% preventative.

    20. Re: What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congrats.

    21. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Type II diabetes is most commonly a multigene disease associated with metabolic X syndrome. The strongest correlations in order are some single gene disorders (e.g. haemochromatosis), multiple genes with additive risks, epigenetics (methylation of genes for regulation based on parents and grandparents lifestyle), age, being male, race, sedentary lifestyle and then a high calorie diet.

      The last two are the only ones you can do anything about and being active and eating healthily will lower the risk. But it not a simple causation.

    22. Re:What's the name of the drug? by fluffy99 · · Score: 1

      This drug treats a specific cause of Type-1 diabetes (inability to produce enough insulin). Type-1 accounts for about 5-10% of diabetes diagnoses and is not preventable. Type-2 is the other type, where the body can't properly use the insulin (also called insulin resistance). Type-2 can be usually be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight, eating sensibly, and exercising regularly.

    23. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Type 2 Diabetic chiming in here. If you eat no Carbs or very few Carbs then you will eventually run out of fuel and keel over. Carbs are fuel for the human body and you DO NEED THEM. The problem with being a diabletic is that the fuel that nurishes you can also kill you. The concept of diet alone won't necessarily last for long. I initially controlled my diabetes by loosing weight and today I'm on insulin! I have kept off 50lbs of excess weight and my diabetes got worse! In fact I was pre-diabetic, lost the weight, came in the doctor, got a congratulations for loosing the weight then was immediatly told that I was diabetic!

      Diabetes can be controlled by lifestyle choices but as people age their mentabolism and insulin resistance changes. In short most diabetics eventually require more therapy. This is genetic disease that no one chooses or can control! I have my mother who is diabetic, a great aunt on my mothers side who died from Diabetes, and an Uncle on my dads side that died from complications of diabetes. In short, I got screwed in the genetic lottery. Low carb diets worked for awhile but eventually I had to come to the realization that insulin was needed.

      If your a diabetic see your doctor. Low carb diets are prescribed but not zero carb diets (impossible anyway unless you eat only plastic pellets because all food has some nutritional value). Don't be afraid of medication - its what is saving my life. Lifestyle changes do help (it did for me) but eventually almost all diabetics loose that battle as they age.

      Diet control is diminishing returns. As you go super low carb (which I did for a couple of years) the high protein (and consequently higher fat) diet has other side effects. My weight went down but I started having kidney stones! I don't advocate eating what ever you want - the current treatment for me is a combination of diet, exercise, and medication. You have to regulate your food intake, exercise, and medication. And yes I do eat some carbs every day - we all need them.

      If there was an easy fix for this disease then I would have done it - sadly there isn't yet. I hope this research pans out. One thing about diabetics - we are expensive. This research could have a huge benefit to society.

    24. Re:What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      poverty causes type 2 diabetes, many can't afford to eat a healthy diet due to this fact choice is diabetes or homelessness.

    25. Re: What's the name of the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      just pointing out you can get type 1 later in life, it isn't just children.

    26. Re:What's the name of the drug? by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      Prevented my ass. It can be delayed at best. I have several people with Type-2 in my family and most of them never were fat to begin with and did a lot of physical exercise. Also it is possible to get diabetic from viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic induced diseases which cause pancreatitis.

    27. Re:What's the name of the drug? by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure it is worse than that. The feeling of starvation is an extreme motivator.

    28. Re:What's the name of the drug? by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      "One thing about diabetics - we are expensive."

      And this is the reason why we do not have a cure yet. Treating the disease is orders of magnitude more profitable than a cure.

  2. US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Get rid of corn subsidies and watch your obesity/diabestes epidemic grind to a halt.

    1. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by thehiddenones · · Score: 1

      You do realize that diabetes is often a genetic disease linked in no way to obesity, right?

      --
      Spork
    2. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      "Often"

      I don't think that word means what you think it means.

      I am not a doctor but I am a nurse and unless they are type 1 it is almost ALWAYS due to poor diet. Type 2 significantly outnumbers Type 1.

      It's okay to be wrong, mate.

    3. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Jawnn · · Score: 1

      Yes, and TFA makes it clear that they are focusing on Type 1 patients, so lets all STFU about how fat people are to blame for all their own problems. M'kay?

    4. Re:US Gov't Corn Subsides by tomhath · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Corn subsidies keep the price of Ethanol artificially low so people don't realize how expensive that silly attempt at "renewable" energy really is.

    5. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Shadow+IT+Ninja · · Score: 1

      Right, the study is enrolling people with type 1 diabetes (juvenile onset) which is typically genetic or caused by infection or other damage to the pancreas. It's type 2 diabetes (adult onset) which is thought to have some environmental cause like diet, lack of exercise or some combination of the two. High fructose corn syrup has been specifically vilified in this regard but I don't think the evidence is convincing that it is any worse than any other sugar. IMHO, it fall into the category of correlation is not causation.

    6. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by bws111 · · Score: 1

      From the NIH:

      Genes play a significant part in susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Having certain genes or combinations of genes may increase or decrease a person’s risk for developing the disease. The role of genes is suggested by the high rate of type 2 diabetes in families and identical twins and wide variations in diabetes prevalence by ethnicity. Type 2 diabetes occurs more frequently in African Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Hispanics/Latinos, and some Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Americans than it does in non-Hispanic whites.

      Recent studies have combined genetic data from large numbers of people, accelerating the pace of gene discovery. Though scientists have now identified many gene variants that increase susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, the majority have yet to be discovered. The known genes appear to affect insulin production rather than insulin resistance. Researchers are working to identify additional gene variants and to learn how they interact with one another and with environmental factors to cause diabetes.

      Studies have shown that variants of the TCF7L2 gene increase susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. For people who inherit two copies of the variants, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is about 80 percent higher than for those who do not carry the gene variant.1 However, even in those with the variant, diet and physical activity leading to weight loss help delay diabetes, according to the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a major clinical trial involving people at high risk.

      Genes can also increase the risk of diabetes by increasing a person’s tendency to become overweight or obese. One theory, known as the “thrifty gene” hypothesis, suggests certain genes increase the efficiency of metabolism to extract energy from food and store the energy for later use. This survival trait was advantageous for populations whose food supplies were scarce or unpredictable and could help keep people alive during famine. In modern times, however, when high-calorie foods are plentiful, such a trait can promote obesity and type 2 diabetes.

    7. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by geekoid · · Score: 1, Informative

      Type II is also genetic.

      You need to get caught up.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    8. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And, I hope you are NEVER my nurse!!!

      Go back to class and learn that Type 2 is not caused just by diet, but by metabolism and genetics and a funny thing called insulin resistance.

      I exercise every day, watch my diet, take medications for my Type 2 and STILL the A1C (and weight) keeps creeping up. It is a progressive disease which has some nasty effects on the body. I am wondering when I will be required to take insulin injections as goto drugs like Janumet and Metformin don't get the job done anymore.

      Now, go sign up for that continuing education class so you can learn about the disease instead of remaining ignorant about this disease.

    9. Re:US Gov't Corn Subsides by Immerman · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Hell, the fact that we're using corn-based ethanol at all is probably due in large part to the subsidies - there are far more efficient crops to produce ethanol from, even if a lot of them don't grow well in much of the US (sugar cane leaps to mind)

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    10. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      and obesity can increase insulin resistance.

      as much as type 2's want to deny it, obesity is very much linked to their disease. increased insulin resistance due to obesity can make it progress faster and exhibit symptoms of diabetes sooner. you are right, by itself, obesity is not the cause but there is still a correlation to obesity.

      i am type 1. we also have to watch for insulin resistance. everyone also seems to think we are type 2's.

    11. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because genetics predispose people there is "USUALLY" environmental factors that trigger the insulin resistance. Nursing school teaches us to encourage the diet not dole out more medication and tell them its not their fault. Sorry you're so blind, Ronin.

    12. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you considered maybe you're a special case? Again, USUALLY my patients are poor diet zero exercise so that's my work experience. It's okay to tell me that it's their genetics.

      Doesn't mean you know what the hell you're talking about.

      #highschooleducation #learnselfcontrol

    13. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Genetic predisposition, with environmental triggers is how I've seen it described. I'm already 10 years past my father's diagnosis of diabetes. But he was an overweight alcoholic. HFCS is a red herring. Yes, everyone with it was exposed a lot. 100% also drank milk or formula as a baby.

    14. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Zenin · · Score: 1

      We get it, you're just "big boned", it's not your fault.

      Thankfully your faulty genes also greatly reduce your likelihood of reproducing, reducing the burden on future generations of both your medical and mental genetic weaknesses. In many ways Type 2 is a self-correcting condition...it'll just takes a few generations to make a substantial correction.

      --
      My /. uid is better then your /. uid
    15. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      type 2 is usually gotten latter in life, often after they would have had a chance to reproduce. so it isn't self correcting.

      type 1 on the other hand was self correction, as most are diagnosed as children, and it was a death sentence until they discovered insulin. so until insulin was discovered any genetics that caused it would not be passed on.

    16. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 1

      The first thing they teach you is to watch your diet and to exercise and monitor your glucose levels. When that approach fails, what other cause is there?

      The fact that YOU have patients that continue to eat poorly and don't exercise is not an environment thing - it's laziness or they are simply tired of nothing working and have a nurse that doesn't understand their disease but pretends they do. I bet you probably smoke also, right?

      Show me the "environmental" factors that can cause Type 2 to flair up. I exhibited no symptoms when I was 160 pounds at age 21. I am 6 ft 1. I fought semi-professionally, cycled, rock-climbed and ran long distance (trained for marathons). I developed the disease regardless. The only mitigating factor is that for four years, I led a more sedentary life onboard a navy ship where I couldn't do all that and performed the equivalent of shift work. Still it was another 20 years, after I got out, before I was diagnosed. I had regained a more active lifestyle.

      The only extraordinary environmental factors that I was exposed to might be nerve agents, depleted uranium and experimental vaccines during Desert Storm. When you can drop down 20 pounds in the first several months, monitor and control caloric intake, increase activity only to have it go back up a few months later? Let me tell you, pal, it's a pisser. And, it's not diet as you indicate.

      Short of sucking out the fat cells, there is little anyone can do to stop regaining the weight as the glucose that is not processed by the cells go straight to the fat cells and keep flooding the body with more glucose. So, yes, obesity and Type 2 go hand in hand caused by the cell's inability to utilize the insulin it produces - it's a Catch-22 type scenario called "insulin resistance".

      As somebody else pointed out, Type 1's on insulin can develop it also. Prior to insulin injections, these folks would just waste away. Now, they can have the benefits of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Lucky them.

    17. Re: US Gov't Corn Subsides by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      I'll agree, they are directly linked, but you have the cause and effect backwards. Insulin resistance causes you to get fat.

    18. Re:US Gov't Corn Subsides by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      Personally I have never met a vegan who could be considered even remotely healthy. Hell, most of the vegetarians I have met have been rather unhealthy.

      Face it, the human body evolved to eat primarily meat, some fruit and vegetables, and not bread. Unfortunately bread is delicious.

  3. Animal models by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

    What is the difference between an animal model and an animal used in scientific experimentation?

    1. Re: Animal models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guinea pig?

    2. Re:Animal models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whether it gets paid to parade on a catwalk.

    3. Re:Animal models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Animal models have to blow the scientists to get into the studies.

    4. Re:Animal models by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2

      What is the difference between an animal model and an animal used in scientific experimentation?

      Animal models are SUPER-thin and pout a lot.

    5. Re:Animal models by omems · · Score: 1

      Nothing really. The term "model" is used because an animal with a disease is not the same as a human with the same disease. It is, at best, an approximation that has many similarities.

      You can find more at wikiP .

    6. Re:Animal models by Shadow+IT+Ninja · · Score: 5, Informative

      An animal model is an animal which has been specifically engineered to resemble human disease. For example, there is a mouse model for melanoma which has a specifically engineered copy of the BRAF gene with a V600E mutation that occurs in about half of all human melanomas along with a knock out of the PTEN gene, also very common in human melanomas. These genes are fused to a tyrosenase promoter, which is only expressed in melanocytes in the skin, and a drug activator so that they can be turned on at a specific time and in the correct place. Melanoma is unknown in mice besides this model and previous cases created in the laboratory with chemical or ultraviolet mutagenesis. "Animal model" also implies some body of literature studying the engineered animal to verify that it really does resemble the human condition better than other practically available alternative experimental subjects.

    7. Re:Animal models by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Statistics.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  4. now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    now I can be as fat as I want!

    1. Re:now by tehlinux · · Score: 1

      Yeah, can you buy verapamil on silk road 2.0? Oh wait...

      --
      Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!
  5. Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by riverat1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are they talking about type 1 diabetes (lack of insulin production) or type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance)? I suspect it's type 2 because fixing a pancreas that's not producing insulin would be quite difficult if not impossible.

    1. Re: Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by thehiddenones · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's type 1. I beleive they're doing it by inserting insulin - producing cells that won't get caught by the immune system.

      --
      Spork
    2. Re: Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by thehiddenones · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whoops, wrong group. They're doing it by inhibiting the buildup of a chemical that kills beta cells.

      --
      Spork
    3. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Shadow+IT+Ninja · · Score: 3, Informative

      TFA specifically says it's type 1 diabetes.

    4. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Type 1, actually. They've found a pathway that is involved in triggering beta cell death and a drug that supresses that pathway, leading to regeneration of beta cell mass in animal models. They're literally looking at a way of making the type 1 pancreas work again, which even if it's a little bit, will be able to do the fine-tuned control of insulin better than you ever can with a pump or injections. This is fantastic.

    5. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      Are they talking about type 1 diabetes (lack of insulin production) or type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance)? I suspect it's type 2 because fixing a pancreas that's not producing insulin would be quite difficult if not impossible.

      Nope, the title of the trial is:

      the re-purposing of verapamil as a beta cell survival therapy in type 1 diabetes

    6. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The article specifically mentions that they are enrolling Type 1 diabetics in their human trials next year.

    7. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Type 1. The articles do not directly cover the autoimmune aspect of T1, but suggest that TXNIP proteins are responsible for the destruction insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Verapamil has been shown to reduce TXNIP levels in animal models which in turn reduces the destruction of beta cells. One article also claims, but does not fully explain how, that in some cases beta cells actually begin producing insulin again.

    8. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any animal that is thin enough to become a model is not going to get type 2 diabetes.

    9. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Type II.

      I dunno about this who thing. Verpamil is a common drug. Diabetes is a common problem. There exists data sets from the big insurers, systems like Kaiser and those nasty socialists, the Scandinavians, who have had computerized medical records for decades. It would seem easy to ask the question 'Are the glucose (or better yet Hemoglobin A1c) levels) among patients taking verapamil and different from similar patients not taking the drug.

      You could get some pretty good data pretty quick. You would still need to do the prospective study, but you could get an idea if it made sense to go further.

      Of course, they could have done such a study - these puff piece articles aren't of the highest caliber.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    10. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      No, type I, ONE you damned keyboard. ONE. 1.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    11. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Charliemopps · · Score: 0

      Type II.

      I dunno about this who thing. Verpamil is a common drug. Diabetes is a common problem. There exists data sets from the big insurers, systems like Kaiser and those nasty socialists, the Scandinavians, who have had computerized medical records for decades. It would seem easy to ask the question 'Are the glucose (or better yet Hemoglobin A1c) levels) among patients taking verapamil and different from similar patients not taking the drug.

      You could get some pretty good data pretty quick. You would still need to do the prospective study, but you could get an idea if it made sense to go further.

      Of course, they could have done such a study - these puff piece articles aren't of the highest caliber.

      so... you didn't read it at all before posting or what?

    12. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should have read the whole thread? He corrected himself 2 minutes before you posted.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    13. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by kwiecmmm · · Score: 1

      The article states that it is for type 1 diabetes.

      Instead it is meant to lessen the amount of TXNIP to prevent the immune system from destroying beta cells. And it is only being given to folks who were recently diagnosed (last 3 months)?

      I think the title of this is all wrong, maybe I am misreading this, but it seems like it is meant to prevent body from destroying the few beta cells that are left. How can this cure diabetes? Is this treatment anything that can be used in folks (like myself) that have had type 1 for a while?

      The articles don't really answer these questions but seem to claim that it can cure diabetes, does anyone know the answers to these?

    14. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are they talking about type 1 diabetes (lack of insulin production) or type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance)? I suspect it's type 2 because fixing a pancreas that's not producing insulin would be quite difficult if not impossible.

      How many times is "type 1" used in TFA? The answer is 10... It is used f****ing 10 separate g*d****m *iss guzzling times.

      --
      QOTD: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." -Honest Abe

    15. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by wcrowe · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's type 1 (which I have). It it not necessarily impossible to fix a pancreas that is not producing insulin, because very often, even a type 1 diabetic will have at least a few beta cells. If something can be done to prevent beta cells from being destroyed, the body can produce more, and then a healthy level of insulin can be maintained.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    16. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Thanks. Zothecula should have put it in the post.

    17. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by budgenator · · Score: 1

      They are talking about both, but the first clinical trial will only use type I subjects.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    18. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Of course in /. tradition I didn't read TFA. It's information that should have been in the summary post.

    19. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by sjames · · Score: 1

      That is unknown for now. We don't know everything about the autoimmune reaction that destroys the beta cells in the first place.

      IF and it is an if, the autoimmune reaction is simply the starting trigger and the destruction is sustained by other follow-on effects, this might actually cure or lessen the disease in people who have been affected for a while.

      The thing is, the induced type I in mice is a very limited model, so all they can say for sure is that there is reason to believe it might be of some benefit to some patients.

    20. Re: Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by hackingbear · · Score: 1

      from the reading of the article, it seems to work for Type 2 too but their research for now only test for Type 1? Would anyone venture to think why this will or will not work for type 2? (try to see if this will help my folk who has type 2.)

    21. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by gweihir · · Score: 1

      You are missing that it might have to be given in a quite different regime and maybe quite different dosage. Other than that, how do you think they got the idea? Very likely there is a small, but statistically relevant effect in ordinary use of the drug.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    22. Re:Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Type 1, actually. They've found a pathway that is involved in triggering beta cell death and a drug that supresses that pathway, leading to regeneration of beta cell mass in animal models. They're literally looking at a way of making the type 1 pancreas work again, which even if it's a little bit, will be able to do the fine-tuned control of insulin better than you ever can with a pump or injections. This is fantastic.

      It is, except that EVERY medication has side effects. Thanks, but I'm going to stick with insulin injections.

      Gastrointestinal side effects have included constipation (up to 11.7%), nausea (up to 2.7%), dyspepsia (up to 2.7%), and diarrhea (up to 2.4%). Nonobstructive, paralytic ileus (reversible upon discontinuation) has been reported infrequently. Diarrhea, dry mouth, gastrointestinal distress, and gingival hyperplasia have been reported.

      Cardiovascular side effects have included hypotension (up to 2.5%), new or worsened congestive heart failure (CHF) or pulmonary edema (negative inotropism; 1.8%), bradycardia (heart rate less than 50/minute; 1.4%), atrioventricular (AV) block (first-degree; up to 1.7%), AV block (total first-, second-, and third-degree; 1.2%), AV block (second- and third-degree; 0.8%), and postural hypotension (up to 0.4%). Symptomatic hypotension (1.5%), bradycardia (1.2%), and severe tachycardia (1%) have been reported with intravenous verapamil. In studies related to control of ventricular response in patients taking digoxin who had atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, ventricular rate less than 50/minute at rest (15%) and asymptomatic hypotension (5%) were reported. Dizziness, hypotension, peripheral edema, and headache are not uncommon and are related to vasodilation of vascular smooth muscle. Verapamil may accelerate conduction of anomalous AV conduction tissue, as in the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can result in worsened tachycardia, including malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias or accelerated junctional tachycardia. Because of this potentially fatal side effect, verapamil is not recommended in patients with atrial fibrillation and premature ventricular depolarizations. Angina pectoris, AV block (second- and third-degree), atrioventricular dissociation, CHF, pulmonary edema, abnormal ECG, chest pain, claudication, hypertension, myocardial infarction, palpitations, and purpura (vasculitis) have been reported during open trials/postmarketing experience.

      CHF or pulmonary edema may be particularly important in patients with poor left ventricular function.

      Various conduction disturbances have been reported with verapamil therapy, including bradycardia, AV block, first-, second-, third-degree heart block, and left bundle branch block.

      Nervous system side effects have included headache (up to 12.1%), dizziness (up to 4.7%), lethargy (up to 3.2%), fatigue (up to 4.5%), sleep disturbances (up to 1.4%), paresthesia (up to 1%), and rare neurologic complaints (including paresthesias, sleeping problems, and tremors; less than 1%). Dizziness (1.2%), headache (1.2%), sleepiness, vertigo, and rare cases of seizures during injection have been reported with intravenous verapamil. Rare cases of muscle fasciculations in patients with underlying neuromuscular diseases, stroke associated with verapamil-induced hypotension, exacerbation of myasthenia gravis, and myoclonic dystonia have been reported. Cerebrovascular accident, confusion, equilibrium disorders, extrapyramidal symptoms, insomnia, paresthesia, shakiness, somnolence, syncope, and tinnitus have been reported during open trials/postmarketing experience.

      Other side effects have included flu syndrome (up to 3.7%), peripheral edema (up to 3.7%), edema (up to 3%), pain (up to 2.4%), fatigue (1.7%), accidental injury (up to 1.5%), ankle edema (up to 1.4%), and flushing (up to 0.8%).

      Immunologic side effects have included infection (up to 12.1%).

      Hepatic side effects have included elevated liver enzymes (up to 1.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  6. Human models by Extremus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If the drug is already in use (for other purposes), wouldn't we be able to see its effects on people already?

    1. Re:Human models by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      If the drug is already in use (for other purposes), wouldn't we be able to see its effects on people already?

      How do you think this all got started in the first place?

    2. Re:Human models by ssyladin · · Score: 2

      Anecdotal evidence, not scientifically controlled. A company seeks & the FDA has approve a chemical for the treatment of a specific condition. If they find additional uses, there is a whole additional battery of analysis on dosing, side-effects, etc. that needs to be done. 8mg of asprin a day to help improve heart health for some folks, but 400mg every 4 hours to treat clotting conditions. Same drug, very different uses, separately validated & approved.

    3. Re:Human models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they could still have to test it for safety if it requires a significantly higher dose to be effective.

  7. Type 1 vs Type 2 by Dynamoo · · Score: 1
    Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are really not the same condition at all, although often the symptoms and treatment are similar. Much of the recent research has been into Type 1.

    Incidentally, I have type 2 diabetes and my body/mass index is exactly where it should be, I'm not overweight and never have been. It doesn't just affect big people.

    --
    Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
    1. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      type 1.5 .. check out 1.5 combo of causes similar to type 1 and insulin resistance like type 2.

    2. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ditto on the BMI and T2, :-(

      However, there be some hope here. From TFA:

      Researchers have known for some time that beta cells are critical in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The cells are gradually lost in both types of the disease due to programmed cell death, but the exact triggers for the deaths were previously unknown.

      Since the drug seems to help keep beta cells alive, it could help at least some in Type 2.

    3. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by itzly · · Score: 1

      Body/mass index isn't necessarily a reliable indicator, though. Two people with identical weight and identical fat percentage can still differ in the place they carry the fat. Fat around internal organs can cause metabolic disorders, while the same amount of subcutaneous fat can be harmless.

    4. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by wcrowe · · Score: 2

      One of the greatest disservices that has been done to people with diabetes is the notion that being overweight causes the disease. It can certainly contribute to it, but the bottom line is that it is a genetic disorder. I personally know three type 2 diabetics who have fine BMIs and get regular exercise. Myself, I was diagnosed as a type 2. I began exercising and lost 110 pounds. And yet I kept getting worse. It turns out that I was mis-diagnosed, and that I am a type 1. It just hit me later in life than it usually does.

      Unfortunately, there is now this popular misconception that everyone who is diabetic is a fat couch potato. There was an SNL skit a couple of years ago where a Chinese character in a skit says, "What does America manufacture? Hmmmm. Diabetes?" Big laughs. Oh, har, har, har! Now we read that the largest number of diabetics in the world are in China.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    5. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      One of the greatest disservices that has been done to people with diabetes is the notion that being overweight causes the disease. It can certainly contribute to it, but the bottom line is that it is a genetic disorder. I personally know three type 2 diabetics who have fine BMIs and get regular exercise.

      This is bullshit as anyone who actually works in a hospital or went to school to be a nurse or doctor will attest. It isn't just a myth it is what we are actually taught.

      There is a significant correlation between being overweight + eating shit + sitting on your ass all day and catching type 2 diabetes. You can sugar coat and regurgitate talking points from the Ag lobby till your blue in the face it has no effect on reality nor does providing counter-examples from personal experience mean jack.

      Oh, har, har, har! Now we read that the largest number of diabetics in the world are in China

      The cause of China's problem is in fact eating shit and sitting on their asses and getting fat same as here. Only difference it's triggered at a lower BMI threshold.

    6. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shouldn't it be called type 3 because you have both?

    7. Re:Type 1 vs Type 2 by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Isn't that used for gestational?

  8. Human models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I believe it skips having to redo some of the regulatory requirements - they don't have to test it for safety - so they can get straight to the "does this actually work in humans?" test, which is what they're looking for people for. You /might/ be able to find some diabetics already on it and do some studies on that information as well, but this way is more controllable.

  9. Type 1 Diabetes, geniuses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    It's the type you're born with, not the type from too much corn syrup. Keep yer snark to yourselves until you read the fucking article.

    .

    1. Re:Type 1 Diabetes, geniuses by gweihir · · Score: 1

      This is slashdot. Functional illiteracy here is even higher than in the general population, and there are a lot of extreme Dunning-Kruger cases here.

      This is not a new effect, though:

          Whenever an obviously well founded statement is made... by a person specially
          well acquainted with the facts, that unlucky person is instantly and
          frantically contradicted by all the people who obviously know nothing about
          it. – George Bernard Shaw

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  10. This could help some people with type2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's all sorts of causes of Type 2. Some like me have a pancreas kicking out less insulin.. it's called type 1.5 and it's considered type 2.
    type 1.5 with less insulin sensitivity. crap.. I'll take it since gliburide gets my glucose in the normal zone.

  11. Re: The food pyramid screws you up and then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    6 liters of soda and half a dozen bacon cheeseburgers aren't on the pyramid you fat fuck.

  12. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by armanox · · Score: 1

    Clearly you don't understand how the disorder works.

    You can't 'cure' type I diabetes. Pancreatic transplants are the closest thing we currently have, and they are subject to the same trouble that the native pancreas suffers - destruction of the beta islet cells due to an autoimmune response.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  13. Is there hope? by Major+Blud · · Score: 1

    This isn't a "cure" per say, as you'd still have to take verapamil on a daily basis. You'd just be replacing one drug (insulin) with another (verapamil). You'd need less insulin though, and the verapamil will probably help regulate glucose levels more closely. I'm sure verapamil comes with a nice list of side effects of it's own though.

    As someone with Type 1, I really want to be hopeful about this.....but it seems like we've been 5 years away from a cure for the last 30 years now.

    --
    If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
    1. Re:Is there hope? by kwiecmmm · · Score: 1

      Recently a Harvard doctor said he was able to get stem cells to turn into Beta Cells. http://hsci.harvard.edu/news/stem-cells-billions-human-insulin-producing-cells

      Maybe with this and the verapamil the body won't attack the Beta Cells...

      As a type 1 for a decade I understand the skepticism, but they seem to be closer these days. Also I would love to just take pills everyday for this rather than insulin injections and constant blood sugar monitoring.

    2. Re:Is there hope? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This drug will do nothing to help people who've had Type 1 for years like you and I. It only slows/halts the death of insulin producing cells if you've still got some alive. FTFA:

      The trial will enroll 52 people between the ages of 19 and 45 within three months of receiving a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

      I've seen plenty of other promising research for immunizing people against Type 1 or reversing the effect if it's still fresh like this but I can't imagine existing Type 1s being cured by anything less than full tissue regeneration tech or artificial pancreases. A lot of people like to think that artificial organs aren't far off since we've seen some success with artificial hearts but they don't stop to think about the difference between a simple mechanical motor replacing the heart and an organ-scale chemical factory that would be needed for pancreases. It's definitely a long way off. I'm not as convinced as some futurists that any sort of nanotech medical revolution is coming in the 2020s or 2030s. I've bought into false hopes like that too many times already and probably don't have enough time left to buy into the next one.

    3. Re:Is there hope? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We would be closer to a cure if people would only give more money to large diabetes charities that are run by CEOs who make millions/year to run them.

    4. Re:Is there hope? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like you're as fond of groups like the American Diabetes Association as I am. My parents once dragged me to one of their diner fundraisers as a child where I and several other kids were paraded around in their merchandise among a crowd of pitying stares. Then when the diner got started, we were informed that no diabetic diet was being served and no nutritional information was available for any of the catered food so the rest of the kids and I just sat there not eating the meal that they insisted on putting in front of us anyway for the sake of photo ops. As far as I'm concerned, everyone at the ADA deserves to have their limbs amputated and eyes gouged out since I doubt they'll ever have a clue about what having diabetes is like any other way.

    5. Re:Is there hope? by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 1

      As someone with Type 1, I really want to be hopeful about this.....but it seems like we've been 5 years away from a cure for the last 30 years now.

      I remember when I was a kid they predicted a cure for diabetes at about 5 years. This was 30 years ago, at least. As the years roll by I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I don't believe they are looking for a cure. But are instead looking for other ways to treat it. There simply is no long term profits in a cure, but treatments are a different story. They can come up with new treatments every day.

      This maybe just a continuation of this cycle. Now they have one more drug they can get you on. Just another treatment.

      --

      Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

    6. Re:Is there hope? by kwiecmmm · · Score: 1

      I remember when I was a kid they predicted a cure for diabetes at about 5 years. This was 30 years ago, at least. As the years roll by I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I don't believe they are looking for a cure. But are instead looking for other ways to treat it. There simply is no long term profits in a cure, but treatments are a different story. They can come up with new treatments every day.

      While I understand the feeling, I think there are plenty of decent scientists out there with a personal stake in finding a cure. Also, while this may hold true for drug companies, pharmacies and some doctors, the insurance companies would rather that everyone was cured. So while there are profits in treatment, there is also profit in a cure as well.

    7. Re:Is there hope? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So your saying they are about the same as Autism Speaks?

    8. Re:Is there hope? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, one reassuring thing is the willingness of corporations to strangle the golden goose for short term profits. They totally would put out a cure and destroy a billion dollar a year market for short term profit.

    9. Re:Is there hope? by gweihir · · Score: 1

      It just is that actual breakthroughs like the one needed here require a lot of time. 50-80 years from first successful lab demo to actually reliably working general deployment are quite standard in the history of science and technology. They are indeed closer, but they still need quite a bit of time.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    10. Re:Is there hope? by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 1

      It's also well worth a Nobel prize and the gratitude of millions of people worldwide.

    11. Re:Is there hope? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      I posted the list of known side effects here. There is NO way that I'm swapping 4 shots a day for this. It's not like the shots are all that bad - it's the glucose monitoring that's the pain. If a dog can sniff my blood sugar level, why can't we have a non-invasive glucometer?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  14. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

    How does the food pyramid exactly cause type I diabetes?

  15. Re: The food pyramid screws you up and then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    6 liters of soda and half a dozen bacon cheeseburgers aren't on the pyramid you fat fuck.

    Ah, but cereals and breads are you, dumb shit. They're essentially sugar in a different form. Eating those, regardless of type of diabetes, is bad for you yet the government recommends the same amount regardless of your condition. A cheeseburger without a bun has less impact on a type ii diabetic than bread.

  16. New trial required? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Why not just find a bunch of diabetics with HBP who have been taking this drug and see if they really still have diabetes?

  17. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except that people with pancreas transplants, due to them have a "TRANSPLANTED ORGAN" in their body from someone else have to take immune suppressing drugs for life to prevent organ rejection. Due to this fact the auto-immune condition subsides because they have oppressed their immune system.

    Also realize that when you take immune suppressing drugs you SERIOUSLY increase your chance of getting cancer and having other problems. Living with a transplanted organ != a cure.

  18. US Gov't Corn Subsides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get rid of corn subsidies and watch your obesity/diabestes epidemic grind to a halt.

    I'm the OP and I'm really surprised the notion of corn subsides is even remotely controvertial on a site like this -- ??

    I'd like to find a person that adheres to a strict vegan diet devoid of GMOs (corn being the primary offender) that suffers from diabetes. I doubt such a person exists, but I'm willing to entertain the idea of a 300+ lb. diabetic vegan if anyone can provide evidence to the contrary.

  19. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Short answer:
    It doesn't but it is bound to happen in an operation this large.

    There is actually not a consensus on what a healthy, well balanced diet is exactly.

    Never forget mr_mischief,

    "One man's meat is another man's poison."

    The food pyramid does not cause type 1 or type 2 directly, but individuals with latent susceptibility have to know about the condition and do specific things to counter the risk. Also , take into consideration, even if someone does eat according to the food pyramid, do they really comply with it?

  20. What do you think of Dr. Fuhrman's approach? by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 2

    https://www.drfuhrman.com/dise...
    https://www.drfuhrman.com/libr...
    "Treating Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes with Superior Nutrition ... With proper care, a type 1 diabetic can live a long and healthy life, with almost no risk of heart attack, stroke, or complications. Type 1 diabetics need not feel doomed to a life of medical disasters and a possible early death. With a truly health-supporting Nutritarian lifestyle, even the Type 1 diabetic can have the potential for a disease-free life and a better than average life expectancy. I find that when Type 1 diabetics adopt my high-nutrient dietary approach, they reduce their insulin requirements by at least one half. They protect their body against the heart attack promoting effects of the American diet style. They no longer have swings of highs and lows, their weight remains stable, and their glucose levels and lipids stay under excellent control. Even though the Type 1 diabetic will still require exogenous (external) insulin, they will no longer need excessive amounts of it. Remember, it is not the Type 1 diabetes that is so damaging, it is the SAD, the typical dietary advice given to Type 1s and the excessive amounts of insulin required by the SAD that are so harmful. It is simply essential for all Type 1 diabetics to learn and adopt nutritional excellence; they can use much less insulin, achieve a normal, healthy lifespan and dramatically reduce their risk of complications later in life."

    An important aspect is getting enough micronutrients and fiber, which were not mentioned in your post (but you may well do).

    He also has a book out on it:
    http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/...
    "This New York Times best seller offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse [type 2] diabetes -- without drugs. Diabetes does not have to shorten your life span or result in high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness or other life-threatening ailments. In fact, most type 2 diabetics can get off medication and become 100 percent healthy in just a few simple steps. This book offers no compromises, it is the most aggressive and effective approach to reverse obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease; which typically accompany type 2 diabetes. The information about Type 1 diabetes is simply life saving. It is a must read for every diabetic, as well as any nutritionally-aware person wanting to understand the failure of conventional medical care for diabetic treatments and the "no-brainer" of using nutritional excellence, not drugs."

    Another aspect of this may be gut bacteria. You don't drink diet soda by any chance?
    http://www.prevention.com/heal...
    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesa...

    Ongoing research on vitamin D deficiency and diabetes:
    http://www.nih.gov/news/health...

    BTW, in general, I've heard that exercise, while good for our health, does not help with weight loss because we just eat more afterwards to make up for it. What controls weight in the long term is what we eat, especially micronutrients and fiber, but also good fats and some other things.

    Anyway, thanks for the informative post! Glad you found an approach that works for you. Good luck. I helped manage my mother's diabetes for a time (including for a time after my father died giving her injections three times a day and monitoring blood glucose with finger sticks four times a day) and it was not easy (she had dementia and could not do it herself, and even denied she had diabetes sometimes). As you point ou

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  21. Animal models? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But human models suffer from anorexia.

  22. True-ish, but modded flamebait. Here's more on it: by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    "Get rid of corn subsidies and watch your obesity/diabestes epidemic grind to a halt."

    http://www.seriouseats.com/200...
    "The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has posted an easy-to-understand visual on its site that shows which foods U.S. tax dollars go to support under the nation's farm bill. It's titled "Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?" and depicts two pyramids -- subsidized foods and the old recommended food pyramid. It's interesting to note that the two are almost inversely proportional to each other."

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  23. Re:US Gov't Corn Subsides & slashdot conservat by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Slashdot may usually be progressive technologically (sometimes even too progressive in some ways), but it can be backward/conservative in other ways (especially regurgitating mainstream medicine's party line, which is why your amusing-to-me over-generalization got modded flamebait). Obviously, there is still a lot of variety here, so this is just an observation on trends...

    A couple things on that tangent:
    http://www.disciplined-minds.c...
    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09...
    "They say they believe in freedom and share our values. They say a few bad apples shouldn't bring down judgment on their entire kind. Don't be fooled. Though they walk among us with impunity, they are, in the words of Henry Farrell, a political scientist at George Washington University, "a group that is notoriously associated with terrorist violence and fundamentalist political beliefs."
    They are engineers.
    Farrell, of course, was kidding. He posted that comment on a blog shortly after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (confessed Al Qaeda operative and engineering student) tried to blow up an airliner over Detroit last winter. But the satire was rooted in a statistical fact: in the ranks of captured and confessed terrorists, engineers and engineering students are significantly overrepresented. Maybe that's a numerological accident. The sociologist Diego Gambetta and the political scientist Steffen Hertog don't think so. ...
    Gambetta and Hertog found engineers only in right-wing groups -- the ones that claim to fight for the pious past of Islamic fundamentalists or the white-supremacy America of the Aryan Nations (founder: Richard Butler, engineer) or the minimal pre-modern U.S. government that Stack and Bedell extolled.
    Among Communists, anarchists and other groups whose shining ideal lies in the future, the researchers found almost no engineers. Yet these organizations mastered the same technical skills as the right-wingers. Between 1970 and 1978, for instance, the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany staged kidnappings, assassinations, bank robberies and bombings. Seventeen of its members had college or graduate degrees, mostly in law or the humanities. Not one studied engineering.
    The engineer mind-set, Gambetta and Hertog suggest, might be a mix of emotional conservatism and intellectual habits that prefers clear answers to ambiguous questions -- "the combination of a sharp mind with a loyal acceptance of authority." Do people become engineers because they are this way? Or does engineering work shape them? Itâ(TM)s probably a feedback loop of both, Gambetta says. ..."

    Much of medicine is filled with ambiguity (if you ignore nutritional missteps being at the root of much chronic disease that plays out in a variety of different symptoms). Much of the rest of disease is related to lifestyle or environment (e.g. leaded gas causing the past few decades of increasing crime, now dropping as leaded gas has been banned). As Dr. Fuhrman says, genes may give us weak links, but whether they get pulled on to the breaking point is a function of diet and lifestyle and environment. That is not the sort of thing engineers are going to like to here... They want a quick answer prescribed by an authority like a drug. Dr. Fuhrman calls prescriptions for drugs like blood pressure medicine or diabetes-related medicines for type II diabetics as "permission slips" by authority to continue with current bad behavior regarding diet, lifestyle, and environment. Likewise, getting the label of "bad genes" is another permission slip for misbehavior... Not saying some people don't get dealt a much worse hand of cards in terms of genes, family habits, and environment than others... Still, consider how so much of life is what we make of it:
    "An Afternoon with comedian Brett Leake '82"

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  24. Re:US Gov't Corn Subsides (& veganism) by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "I'd like to find a person that adheres to a strict vegan diet devoid of GMOs (corn being the primary offender) that suffers from diabetes. I doubt such a person exists, but I'm willing to entertain the idea of a 300+ lb. diabetic vegan if anyone can provide evidence to the contrary."

    BTW, a lot of vegans eat terrible. Too much processed vegan junk foods, too many carbs, not enough vegetables, nutritional deficiencies relating to B, D, Iodine, Omega 3s/DHA, etc.. Dr. Fuhrman talks about this.
    https://www.drfuhrman.com/libr...
    http://www.drfuhrman.com/libra...
    "What You Need to Know About Vegetarian or Vegan Diets; Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. ... A vegetarian whose diet is mainly refined grains, cold breakfast cereals, processed health food store products, vegetarian fast foods, white rice, and pasta will be worse off than a person who eats a little turkey, chicken, fish, or eggs but consumes large volumes of fruits, vegetables, and beans. That combination of little or no animal products with a higher consumption of fresh produce is the crucial factor that makes a vegetarian diet healthful."

    Personally, considering even Gorillas get about 5% of their calories from termites and such, I don't think any primate is adapted to be totally vegan. Maybe it is possible, but it is really pushing it. In the West, we just don't eat many insects or enough dirt (yes, I mean that, about gut bacteria and vitamin B12, although dirt today is probably not what it used to be like with lead and mercury contamination and e coli contamination and such).

    However, there are lots of people for whom turning vegan improved their health for a couple years until various deficiencies set in. And I think those deficiencies could be managed for people who are aware of them or do various tests. A big thing is to eat a larger variety of foods than most people in Western society on a SAD diet are used to eating. I'd guess iodine deficiency is a big issue for many Western vegans, since some soils are depleted and sea vegetables are not common in a Western diet, and now that much bread has bromine in it instead of iodine as a dough conditioner, the situation is even worse. I also think there may be vitamins in various animal fats that we may not get enough of easily on a vegan diet for some people, especially those whose genetics are more adapted to some situations (same as lactose intolerance, but in reverse, like they are not as good at making vitamin A from plants compared to absorbing it from animal products...)

    Still, in general, vegans tend to be more health conscious, so:
    http://www.veganhealth.org/art...
    "The only prospective study measuring rates of diabetes in vegans, the Adventist Health Study 2, found them to have a 60% less chance of developing the disease than non-vegetarians after two years of follow-up. Previously, a cross-sectional report from the Adventist Health Study-2 showed vegans to have a 68% lower rate of diabetes than non-vegetarians. A number of clinical trials have now shown that a vegan, or mostly vegan, diet can lower body weight, reduce blood sugar, and improve other parameters for type 2 diabetes."

    Corn syrup manufacturers used to (maybe some still do?) clean their equipment with a mercury-based cleaning agent, and so some batches of high fructose corn syrup were contaminated with higher levels of mercury that would have contributed to ill health. Also, in any society with a dominant food (like corn in the USA) more people tend to get allergic to it. An undiagnosed food allergy is going to cause all sorts of problems including stress, which might contribute to obesity. Few people in the USA are probably allergic to rice since the US does not eat so much of it, but a rice or soy allerg

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  25. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by armanox · · Score: 1

    I am extremely aware of the post-transplant requirements and complications, as my father was post-transplant (kidney and pancreas) and towards the end of his life I was one of his main caregivers.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  26. Re:Idiots. by sjames · · Score: 1

    Speaking of idiots...

    Diet has a 0% cure rate for type I (which they are talking about) and isn't nearly as effective as you seem to think for type II.

  27. Re:Idiots. by Cammi · · Score: 0

    Speaking of idiots ... people still believe that myth? HAHAHAHAHA

  28. Theory by DrYak · · Score: 2

    You would effectively starve to death within a year of symptoms showing up, regardless of how much you ate. (IIRC, actual starvation could prevent/slow the progress in some way)

    Well from a purely theoretical point of view:
    it could be possible to survive on a low-carb diet, eating only proteins and fats and avoiding sugar completely.
    Basically, eating only steak and salad, never bread.
    (The kind of diet that bodybuilders use).

    In that situation the body obtains most of its energy by burning fat and maintains blood sugar levels by gluconeogenesis.
    (This metabolic regime consumes some proteins, hence the increase need of meat to avoid starvation).

    But it's complicated to get correctly.
    Compensating the Type 1's lack of insulin is much simpler.

    That's what some think early human diet looked like before agriculture (the theory basis behind the paleo diet).
    That's also used by body builders to burn fat (as mentionned above).
    Before insulin that was the only way to keep Type 1 diabetics alive.
    It was also recently been mentionned as a insuline-free alternative treatment. Was mentionned on /. recently.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Theory by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      I had seen it mentioned that in practice, hypoglycemia and death was a possible/probable side effect of that diet.

  29. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by gweihir · · Score: 1

    It does not. It causes type II.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  30. Is there a cure? by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    Can there be a real cure for diabetes? The glucose eaten can only have a few destinations:

    • 1. Get burnt,but obviously the limitation is how much physical activity the subject has
    • 2. Glycogene storage, which is limited
    • 3. Fat storage, almost unlimited
    • 4. Stay in blood for the kidney to remove it, this is diabetes

    What can we expect from a drug? Moving more glucose to fat storage? It is better than diabetes, but still much less desirable result than eating less carbs..

  31. Predated by Dr. Faustmann's work with BCG vaccine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Look at http://www.faustmanlab.org/.

    It's already been demonstrated in lab animals, and in the first round of human testing, that the BCG vaccine can be used in small doses for 30 days, with tight blood sugar, to treat the auto-immune problem at the root of most cases of Type 1 diabetes. They're gathering funding for their second round of human testing, the first round was quite successful.

    Basically, once the auto-immune problem is addressed, the body makes insulin producing cells from adult stem cells. And yes, it *is* a cure for most Type 1. Frankly, instead of pursuing Yet Another Promising New Treatment(tm), I'd like to see this one get funded. The BCG faccine has already been used for hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people worldwide with few side effects, it's now cheap as spit due to bulk production, and if the FDA in the US refers it to
    "require more study", I personally plan to take a trip to Bangalore for a sabbatical, review the literature for dosages, and buy a supply of the vaccine and a big pile of glucose test strips to nail down my blood sugars for the necessary month of treatment.

  32. Re:Predated by Dr. Faustmann's work with BCG vacci by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

    They say that the effect was transient. Are you really going to inject yourself with BCG vaccine for the rest of your life?

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  33. Not that widely used by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Verapamil has some serious side effects and possible drug-drug interactions, making it not a very widely used. Within it's class (the calcium-antagonists) the dihydropyridine derivatives like amlodipine and nifedipine are much friendlier drugs.

  34. Re:The food pyramid screws you up and then... by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

    It doesn't even do that.

  35. Re:Idiots. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

    What myth?

  36. change diet first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is really dumb to try new drugs before changing diet. Eat low carb diet period. You don't need drugs. Diabetes many people suffer now is the result of bad diet.