July 25, 2003
Research: Cure
Question from Indonesia:
We just found that my 12 year old sister has diabetes, and the doctor said she has to take shots of insulin throughoutt her lifetime. What is the chance she can be 100% cured so she doesn’t have to take insulin for her lifetime?
Answer:
Assuming that your sister has type 1A (autoimmune) diabetes, which is the most common form in childhood, in the present state of our knowledge, she is going to have to take some form of supplemental insulin for the rest of her life. Before too long, however, it is quite probable that intraperitoneal sensors will be developed that can be safely linked to an insulin pump, and this will be a ‘cure’ of sorts. More long term is the prospect that it may be possible to transplant some form of stem cells which can be induced to produce insulin in response to glucose without the need of anything but minimal immunosuppression.
DOB
