Experts still don't know everything about what causes Type 1 Diabetes, but medics in Newcastle are working on an exciting trial which could show how the condition can be treated - and perhaps even cured.
Type 1 Diabetes affects around 400,000 people in the UK - and is by far the most common cause of diabetes in children. It sees the body's own immune system attack the cells which produce insulin. At the Newcastle Diabetes Centre - part of the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust - experts are currently trialling a state-of-the-art immunotherapy treatment which - if given to people soon enough after the condition is discovered - could lead the way to curing or even preventing it.
The trust is one of 20 hospital organisations around Europe taking part in the Impact study, which aims to use targeted new therapies to intervene while newly-diagnosed diabetics are still able to produce their own insulin. That's the hormone that allows the body's cells to absorb sugar into the bloodstream.
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Type 1 is the most common form of diabetes found in children, it is not linked to lifestyle factors and in the main sees patients unable to produce their own insulin. By comparison, Type 2 Diabetes tends to affect older people and sees them often develop either insulin resistance or not produce enough insulin to deal with high blood sugar levels.
Dr Nicola Leech is a consultant involved in leading diabetes care in Newcastle. She told ChronicleLive: "Type 1 diabetes is a condition which normally begins to affect children and young people - and we still don't really know why this is. The immune system is a sophisticated thing.
"We want there to be a treatment for Type 1 diabetes which can stop the damage in the first place."
Dr Leech explained that the new treatment targets the specific cells which cause damage in the pancreas of someone with Type 1 Diabetes, which means that the treatment ought not to weaken the rest of their immune system. Previous trials of this treatment, called IMCY-0098, have shown it's safety and that it appears to work.
Dr Leech explained that if successful, the drug could mean people with Type 1 Diabetes not having to inject insulin on a regular basis. She added: "Injecting themselves with insulin or being on an insulin pump is a lot of work. I've been around enough to have been looking at this sort of thing before and thinking we're almost there, but with this it was a surprise that it did work as well as it has, and it's safe.
"It does look like it may help people to keep some insulin of their own. If successful, the next step would be to take it to people even before they develop diabetes."
She explained that because there are medical warning signs for Type 1 Diabetes, prevention could potentially be possible.
Dr Leech added that with a trial like this one, key was always ensuring that as many newly-diagnosed diabetics as possible were aware of it. "The challenge is finding people who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes. They have to be screened for the trial within nine weeks of diagnosis," she said.
A programme called Address works to ensure people with Type 1 Diabetes are aware of the research which is ongoing to tackle the condition - while type1diabetesresearch.org.uk has comprehensive information about what patients can get involved in.
Does this give you hope about Type 1 Diabetes? Let us know in the comments below
