all David M. Nathan stories

Regeneration of insulin-producing islets may lead to diabetes cure

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:34:23 -0400

Type 1 diabetes develops when the body's immune cells mistakenly attack the insulin-producing islet cells of the pancreas. As islet cells die, insulin production ceases, and blood sugar levels rise, damaging organs throughout the body. Cells from an unexpected source, the spleen, appear to develop into insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells in adult animals. This surprising finding from Massachusetts General Hospital researchers, published in the Nov. 14, 2003 issue of Science, is a followup to the same team's 2001 report of a treatment that cures advanced type 1 diabetes in mice. In discovering the biological mechanism behind that accomplishment, the researchers also have opened a potential new approach to replacing diseased organs and tissues using adult precursor cells. "We have found that it is possible to rapidly regrow islets from adult precursor cells, something that many thought could not be done," says Denise Faustman, principal investigator of the study. "By accomplishing effective, robust and durable islet regeneration, this discovery opens up an entirely new approach to diabetes treatment." The work has been supported by the Iacocca Foundation; the National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases; the Cure Diabetes Now Foundation; and the American Autoimmune-Related Diseases Association Foundation.

Can weight loss decrease heart disease in type 2 diabetes?

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:19:07 -0400

Can weight loss decrease heart disease in type 2 diabetes?

Diet and exercise dramatically delay type 2 diabetes

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:15:18 -0400

Diabetes afflicts more than 16 million people in the United States; type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases. New findings from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a major clinical trial conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and 26 other medical centers nationwide, show that modifications in diet and exercise can dramatically delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in people predisposed to the disease. Participants randomly assigned to intensive lifestyle intervention reduced their risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. The same study found that treatment with the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage®) also reduces diabetes risk, though less dramatically.

Adult stem cells effect a cure

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:14:19 -0400

Using stem cells from the unborn to treat adult diseases has created an anguished public debate. Now research news from Harvard Medical School scientists may help to end that debate by showing that adult stem cells can be coaxed into performing new functions. Researchers working with diabetic mice first killed cells responsible for the diabetes. The animals' adult stem cells took over and regenerated missing cells needed to produce insulin and eliminate the disease. "It was a miracle that we didn't expect," says researcher Denise Faustman, the associate professor of medicine who leads the research. Setting up a trial for patients to test the technique has already begun at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.