Oct 06 2008
Two New Treatments for Diabetes
Islets of Langerhans isn’t just a fun phrase to say, it’s the bits in your pancreas that make insulin. In Texas, a woman received a transplant from a donor’s pancreas of islet cells. She was Type 1 diabetic (congenital and producing insufficient insulin) and she’s not had to take a shot for six months afterward.
The potential side effects of such a transplant are pretty similar to what could become complications from diabtes: kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage. Ask someone with Type 1 if they’ll take that risk over sticking themselves with a needle daily and I’m betting you’ll find a gambling spirit in them.
Here’s the article: Fort Worth’s first islet transplant .
On the Type 2 side of things, there’s a new medication being tested called liraglutide. I checked a few sites about it and so far, the results are hopeful. It was tested in diabetics whose blood sugar wasn’t controled with metformin or glimepiride (the two most common diabetes medications) . About half saw a significant drop in their A1C’s. The drug also supresses appetite, so can be helpful for patients whose diabetes is affected by obesity caused by over-eating. The drug effects triglycerides as well and may reduce blood pressure.
The downsides? Nausea and vomiting for the first month. Also, at least two subjects have reported developing pancreatitis, though it’s not known as of last month if the drug was the cause. The drug is still in trials and is not yet FDA approved in the US.
The Web MD article on it is pretty thorough. Here’s the link: Liraglutide .
Personally, I take any news of a new medication or treatment with a “wait and see” attitude. There’s always a reaction, interaction or side effect that really doesn’t come to light until the med/treatment is been around for awhile. With these two, I’m cautiously optimistic. If for no other reason, it would be nice to wake up in a world where advances like these mean that diabetes becomes a mild annoyance rather than a life chaning condition.
Until then, I’m walking and eating light.
