Update: "cure" for diabetes

[hermanntrude]

In another thread last night me and some other members got talking about diabetes and some people mentioned that i should look up diabetes organisations in my area. I did exactly that and got quite excited because i discovered that the latest in clinical trials for curing diabetes is actually named after my home town and is available to a few people here, so i decided to go ahead and see what i needed to do to get involved.

I also thought i'd read up on the process a bit. I'm glad i did. Apparently it's pretty dangerous. Despite it being a reasonably simple transplant of cells, there is risk of bowel puncture, spleen puncture, bleeding, or restriction of blood flow to the liver, infection and build up of fat on the liver. And that's just the effects of the surgery. To prevent rejection of the cells you need to take immunosupressants. And impressive ones. The total cost is somewhere around $6000 a month for the first few months and some of the costs continue indefinately. Not only that but the drugs themselves are carcinogenic. Total risk of cancer: 10-15%.

islet transplantation program

 

[Sparrow]

I have read about research in other treatments but this one sounds good. It would be good to see and potential cure for this disease, so many people are affected. In my husbands there are a lot of diabetics and it will be a family celebration when and if they find a cure.

If you partake in the trial, GOOD LUCK and please keep us up to date.

 

[hermanntrude]

I won't be partaking in the trial. Not after reading the list of dangers. I figure I have a 10-15% chance of getting cancer from the treatment, whereas i have a 99% chance of living normally for the next 20 years or so if i don't. meanwhile bring on the stem cell research

 

[Niflmir]

I won't be partaking in the trial. Not after reading the list of dangers. I figure I have a 10-15% chance of getting cancer from the treatment, whereas i have a 99% chance of living normally for the next 20 years or so if i don't. meanwhile bring on the stem cell research

That's like the old "out of the frying pan" cliche, only "out with the diabetes, in with the cancer". Hopefully they can do something about those numbers, specifically, decreasing all of them.

 

[tamarin]

Diabetes is an epidemic and given obesity, one of its chief precursors, is off the charts as well the future of health care isn't promising.

 

[Tonington]

meanwhile bring on the stem cell research

I agree Hermann. Get rid of the drugs to suppress the immune response. I saw a study a few months back where they grew human prostrate cells inside a mouse. Lots of ethical questions wrapped up in the stem cell issue.

There is a history of diabetes on my mothers side too. She doesn't have it but she could end up with it. Her mother has it, one of her sisters and I think both brothers have it, another sister only had gestational diabetes. I hope i never get it, or if I do I hope there are safe therapies to get rid of the disease.

 

[hermanntrude]

Diabetes is an epidemic and given obesity, one of its chief precursors, is off the charts as well the future of health care isn't promising.

I'm not fat. I didnt get diabetes because i ate too much.

Diabetes type 2 CAN be caused by overeating and overweight.

what we're talking about here is type 1 diabetes, which strikes at an early age with no warning. Please don't label diabetics as bringing it upon themselves

 

[Curiosity]

Dang Hermann

Those odds aren't even odds are they?

If you are living a reasonably unencumbered life on insulin and monitoring and diet watch, you will as you say probably have a better prognosis than the experiments you describe here.

Transplantation might be available one day - but again there is that old immunosuppression stuff which is as much trouble as the disease.

My mother was 110 pounds all of her life between pregnancies and never changed except when carrying children. After their births she snapped right back to her excellent and trim figure. Also her diet was relatively free of sugar and sweets as she believed in home grown things as much as could be done within the city - in fact much of our family had no sugar even in baked products - she would substitute fruit juices or purees or honey or syrup - depending on the dish... I remember my one big deal was to be allowed to have soda pop as a kid on special occasions... Even now much many food dishes seem far too sweet for my taste.... which could be why some of her children escaped developing her disease...

Don't lose hope....amazing things are being done in labs all over the world....

 

[hermanntrude]

amazing things are being done in labs all over the world....

I know. i'm doing some of them :0)

 

[Curiosity]

Hermann.....good for you - there is nothing more gratifying than proactive hands-on work to get your own solutions!

 

[L Gilbert]

I think one has to be prone to diabetes to get it.
It's evident that one type is genetic. The other environmental. But, I have a cousin who wnet out camping with his family one time. He and the kids were out before breakfast while his wife was preparing flapjacks for breakfast. Ethel decided she didn't have enough syrup so she made some out of butter and brown sugar and had it sitting on the table in the camper. Vic came in, spied the cup of brown stuff and thought it was coffee. By the time Ethel turned around he had put his usual 3 spoons of sugar in it plus cream and drank it. Ethel asked where the syrup went. Vic said he thought the coffee seemed a little sweet. What's Vic's favorite food? Nanaimo bars. He's eaten things with high sugar content for almost his whole life (he's 72) and doesn't have diabetes.

 

[L Gilbert]

Anyway, this new thing looks like an awful lot of things developed for easing maladies: the fix isn't as bad as the side effects. Try listening to some of these drug ads on tv sometime. I'd sooner put up with the sniffles or whateve just to avoid, constipation, cramping, sleepiness, nausea, and all the other sideeffects from the doodad that eases the sniffling.

 

[tamarin]

My goodness, Herman, you're testy. I merely stated current system wisdom.

 

[selfactivated]

My goodness, Herman, you're testy. I merely stated current system wisdom.

What ARE you going on about? That child doesnt know what grumpy IS!

 

[karrie]

Well, you're young and still fairly healthy hermann, so, as you know, I feel you're doing the right thing avoiding the risky route.

Hey, speaking of stem cell research, don't forget that your wife needs to register ahead of time if she wants to donate cord blood. The docs don't do a good job of keeping women aware of that. I think currently in Alberta you can't bank it for yourself, but, you can donate it, which can be very helpful for others.

http://www.acbb.ca/ACBBmain.htm

 

[eh1eh]

I'm not fat. I didnt get diabetes because i ate too much.

Diabetes type 2 CAN be caused by overeating and overweight.

what we're talking about here is type 1 diabetes, which strikes at an early age with no warning. Please don't label diabetics as bringing it upon themselves

Indeed. Diet, exersise or the lack there of, can hasten the on set of diabetes but if you could bring it on by those variables alone then I should have it. I do eat a reasonably heathy diet now, in my youth I abused myself. Eat once a day, drink the rest. I heard time and again, 'You're going to give yourself diabetes'. Well at 45 I haven't seen it yet, knock on wood, and I get good reports from my doctor. It's one of those medical mysteries so far.:wave:

 

[L Gilbert]

Yeah, can't say how many times I heard that "gonna give yerself diabetes" bit either. No diabetes here.

 

[tamarin]

Well, with the way the docs are tinkering with diagnostic numbers in diabetes detection, high blood pressure and more, be patient. They'll squeeze you in soon enough.

 

[hermanntrude]

tamarin I am a little testy when it comes to this issue. People simply don't understand that the worst kinds of diabetes simply cannot be pinned down to the behaviour of the afflicted person. Current system wisdom isnt wise, if it states straight away that diabetes comes from obesity. I did nothing to deserve this condition, and i've had it since i was 8. Imagine being 8 years old, collapsing roughly twice a week, your friends totally failing to understand, your parents unable to cope, being hospitalised again and again, and meanwhile everyone's tellign you "you can't eat that, you're not ALLOWED".

type 2 barely needs curing most times it's treatable with pills and/or diet. The cures are neccessary for those poor sods who've had it their whole lives and are suffering from all sorts of side effects. Good control is almost impossible so sometimes your blood sugar will be higher than it should be and every time it does that your body dies a little.

 

[hermanntrude]

Well, with the way the docs are tinkering with diagnostic numbers in diabetes detection, high blood pressure and more, be patient. They'll squeeze you in soon enough.

stem cells are the way forward, i'm sure.

And thanks karrie... i'll talk to joanne about her cord cells.