Another Promising Break-thru for a Cure????

Anti-CD3 antibody, or ChAglyCD3
JDRF-funded researchers in Europe found that short-term treatment with a drug called an anti-CD3 antibody can preserve beta cell function in patients with recent onset diabetes for up to 18 months, decreasing the need for insulin and paving the way for better metabolic control of diabetes.

The finding, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine could lead to interventions that delay or reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes and related complications such as eye, nerve, and kidney disease.

"These exciting results provide enormous hope that we can preserve residual beta cell function by modulating the autoimmune attack and in fact change the clinical course of type 1 diabetes," said JDRF Executive Vice President for Research Richard Insel, M.D.

"There is no other current treatment that can actually change the clinical course once the disease has begun. This study shows we are on the right track, and opens the door for researchers to target this treatment specifically to individuals who would receive the most benefit."

Patients receiving the anti-CD3 antibody, or ChAglyCD3, for six days continued to produce their own insulin and needed less sup-plemental insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels com-pared with patients who received a placebo. This benefit was apparent up through 18 months after the treatment, suggesting the protective effect is lasting--although for how long is not yet known. Moreover, side effects were minor and short-lived, including flu-like symptoms.


The gene, called Roquin
JDRF-funded researchers in Australia have identified a novel gene that regulates the immune system by acting as a backup safety mechanism to keep harmful immune cells in check. If the gene, called Roquin, is mutated, the natural brake on the immune system is removed and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes can develop.

Discovering this entirely new pathway through which autoimmune disease may occur could open the door to treatment strategies for type 1 diabetes. For example, boosting Roquin's protective effects could make islet transplantation safer or arrest type 1 diabetes in its earliest stage, before islets are destroyed.


To read the rest of each article Subscribe to recieve JDRF Research E-Newsletter send email to: info@jdrf.org Please include "Subscribe Research E-Newsletter" in the subject line