DIABETES VACCINE: THE WORLD CELEBRATES OFFICIAL RELEASE

Once again, after the last article on scientists raising the hopes for diabetic patients, is with yet another excitement to write again that the Vaccine Against Diabetes has now been officially announced leaving not only those with diabetes rejoicing but the entire world as well.

At the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, an announcement which said that the FDA was going to test the vaccine on 150 people who are in an advanced stage of type 1 diabetes was made.

In the United States alone according to reports, about 1.25 millions of people suffer from the type 1 diabetes and a vaccine used over 100 years ago for tuberculosis (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) which has showed promise in reversing this disease is also now commonly used for treating other cases such as bladder cancer and it’s considered safe as well.

Those patients with diabetes who have been injected with the vaccine saw an increase in the levels of the substance called tumor necrosis factor. The increased level of the TNF in the system destroys the T cells which are hindering the production of insulin.

The body of one person with type 1 diabetes doesn’t produce insulin as a result of the immune system which is destroying the cells that create insulin. T cells are produced, and they create problems in the pancreatic islets, where the insulin is produced. The vaccine works by eliminating those T cells.

The report says that in the previous trial, patients were injected with the tuberculosis vaccine two times within a 4-week time frame. The results showed that the very dangerous T cells were gone, and some patients even began to secrete insulin on their own.

One of those excited about the results from the BCG vaccine so far is Dr. Denise Faustman, the director of the Massachusetts General Hospital of Immunobiology Laboratory in Boston and was quoted by omigy.com to have explained “In the phase 1 (preliminary) trial we demonstrated a statistically significant response to the BCG, but our goal in (this trial) is to create a lasting therapeutic response. We will be working again with persons who have had type 1 diabetes for many years. This is not a prevention trial; instead, we are trying to create a regimen that is going to treat even advanced disease”.

There is a new trial coming which will use the same format as the previous one, on individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 years. The subjects are going to be injected with the vaccine two times in a period of 4 weeks, and then once a year for a four-year time span.

The Diabetes Care journal published the results of the past study that analyzed the effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) on children with diabetes at the age between 5 and 18 years. The results showed that BCG vaccine doesn’t keep the beta-cell function or raise the remission rate in children.