March 5, 2001
Other, Research: Cure
Question from Hitterdal, Minnesota, USA:
What are the current statistics on people with diabetes? How close is possible cure other than surgery?
Answer:
The latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control can be found in: 1997 Diabetes Surveillance Report. I don’t think there are any better data available at present. I would also suggest you look at answers to previous questions about Research: Cure at this website.
LD
Additional comments from David Mendosa, A Writer on the Web:
For type�1 diabetes the nearest to a cure is the islet cell transplant program currently underway at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and elsewhere. They hope eventually to be able to transplant islet cells without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. As long as those drugs are required for any transplant (islet cells or pancreas), it cannot be considered a cure, because of these drugs serious side effects.
For type�2 diabetes, the prospect is much dimmer. Since one component of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, a new pancreas or islet cell transplant wouldn’t solve the problem. Years from now perhaps, the ongoing genetic research could eventually lead to a cure, but nothing else is currently on the horizon.
DM