Canadian scientists cure type 1 diabetes in mice

[Guest guest]

Canadian scientists cure diabetes in mice

Nervous system plays key role

Tom Blackwell

CanWest News Service; National Post

Friday, December 15, 2006

TORONTO - Scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's

nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure

of the disease affecting millions of Canadians.

Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a

substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the

pancreas.

The researchers caution they've yet to confirm their findings in humans, but say

they expect results from those studies within a year or so.

Any actual treatment that may emerge from the work is likely still years away.

Their conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes, the most

serious form of the illness that typically first appears in childhood, was

solely caused by auto-immune responses _ the body's immune system turning on

itself.

They also conclude that there are far more similarities than previously thought

between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role in other

chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn's disease.

The ``paradigm changing'' study opens ``a novel, exciting door to address one of

the diseases with large societal impact,'' said Dr. Christian Stohler, a leading

U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of land, who

has reviewed the work.

``The treatment and diagnosis of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a

dramatic leap forward because of the impressive research.''

About two million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10 per cent of them with Type

1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year. Insulin replacement therapy is the only

treatment for Type 1, and can't prevent many of the side-effects, from heart

attacks to kidney failure.

In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to shift glucose

into the cells that need it. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced isn't used

effectively _ something called insulin resistance _ also resulting in poor

absorption of glucose.

The problems stem partly from inflammation _ and eventual death _ of

insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.

Dr. Hans Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the

studies, had concluded in a 1999 paper there were surprising similarities

between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease.

His interest was also piqued by the presence around the insulin-producing islets

of an ``enormous'' number of nerves, pain neurons primarily used to signal the

brain that tissue has been damaged.

Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, he and Dr. Salter, a

pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children, used an old experimental trick _

injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the

pancreatic sensory nerves in mice which had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.

``Then we had the biggest shock of our lives,'' said Dr. Dosch. Almost

immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally ``It was a shock

Ereally out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything

about this.''

It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the

proper functioning of the islets. Further study by the team, which also involved

the University of Calgary and the Laboratory in Maine, found the nerves

in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides, resulting in a

``vicious cycle'' of stress on the islets.

The work is being published today in the journal Cell.

[Guest guest]

, this is great news for I have had type 1 diabetes for 46 years now and

it sure would be nice to get rid of it... Russ

Canadian scientists cure type 1 diabetes in mice

Canadian scientists cure diabetes in mice

Nervous system plays key role

Tom Blackwell

CanWest News Service; National Post

Friday, December 15, 2006

TORONTO - Scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's

nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure

of the disease affecting millions of Canadians.

Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a

substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the

pancreas.

The researchers caution they've yet to confirm their findings in humans, but

say they expect results from those studies within a year or so.

Any actual treatment that may emerge from the work is likely still years away.

Their conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes, the most

serious form of the illness that typically first appears in childhood, was

solely caused by auto-immune responses _ the body's immune system turning on

itself.

They also conclude that there are far more similarities than previously

thought between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role

in other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn's disease.

The ``paradigm changing'' study opens ``a novel, exciting door to address one

of the diseases with large societal impact,'' said Dr. Christian Stohler, a

leading U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of

land, who has reviewed the work.

``The treatment and diagnosis of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a

dramatic leap forward because of the impressive research.''

About two million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10 per cent of them with

Type 1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year. Insulin replacement therapy is the

only treatment for Type 1, and can't prevent many of the side-effects, from

heart attacks to kidney failure.

In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to shift

glucose into the cells that need it. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced

isn't used effectively _ something called insulin resistance _ also resulting in

poor absorption of glucose.

The problems stem partly from inflammation _ and eventual death _ of

insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.

Dr. Hans Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the

studies, had concluded in a 1999 paper there were surprising similarities

between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease.

His interest was also piqued by the presence around the insulin-producing

islets of an ``enormous'' number of nerves, pain neurons primarily used to

signal the brain that tissue has been damaged.

Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, he and Dr. Salter,

a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children, used an old experimental trick

_ injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the

pancreatic sensory nerves in mice which had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.

``Then we had the biggest shock of our lives,'' said Dr. Dosch. Almost

immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally ``It was a shock

Ereally out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything

about this.''

It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the

proper functioning of the islets. Further study by the team, which also involved

the University of Calgary and the Laboratory in Maine, found the nerves

in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides, resulting in a

``vicious cycle'' of stress on the islets.

The work is being published today in the journal Cell.