August 9, 2004
Complications, Other
Question from Davison, Michigan, USA:
Over the past 5 to 10 years, I’ve read many studies that show that C-peptide reduces the occurrence of long-term complications in type 1 diabetics. The most recent article that I’ve read is C-peptide: new findings and therapeutic implications in diabetes. Why is C-peptide not being included in the treatment of type 1 diabetics when all of these studies show that it helps in the prevention of long-term complications?
Answer:
C-peptide therapeutic research has been promoted for several decades, but there is no valid scientific data to suggest it has any benefit whatsoever over tight glucose control, current insulin regimens etc. in type 1 diabetes or in type 2 diabetes. Exactly what the function of C-peptide is physiologically is sometimes still debated scientifically but generally now well understood.
SB
