Less Insulin, Less Hypoglycemia, Better Glucose Levels, Better Quality of Life for persons with Insulinitis?


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Unknown whether the following substance can
achieve those goals, but the clinical trial to test
the use of Leptin along with insulin is designed
to ascertain whether those questions can be
answered with 'Yes' in the case of persons with
Insulinitis, aka type 1 diabetes [inserts, not part
of original article, inserted in brackets within the
following excerpts]:

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Study to Determine Whether Leptin Helps
Type 1 Diabetes [Insulinitis] Patients

Released: 10/8/2010 3:55 PM EDT

Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center

at newswise.com
http://tinyurl.com/leptin-insulin-insulinitis
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Newswise - A clinical trial at UT Southwestern Medical
Center aims to determine whether adding the hormone
leptin to standard insulin therapy might help rein in the
tumultuous blood-sugar levels of people with [Insulinitis]
type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.

This is the first type 1 diabetes [Insulinitis] treatment
trial involving leptin, which is naturally produced by fat
cells and involved in body-weight regulation. For this
study, UT Southwestern researchers will be using metre-
leptin, a slightly modified form of the hormone that has
been well-tolerated in other clinical trials.

....

The phase 1 study also is designed to evaluate the safety
and tolerability of adding leptin to a diabetes [Insulinitis]
treatment regimen.

In type 1 diabetes [Insulinitis], formerly known as juvenile-
onset diabetes, the pancreatic beta cells that produce
insulin are destroyed by an autoimmune process [of note,
other diseases and pancreatic surgery can also cause a
loss of insulin production resulting in Insulinitis, aka
type 1 diabetes].

Type 1 diabetics [persons with Insulinitis] must regiment
their diets and take insulin multiple times a day [or via
insulin pumping with additional insulin pumped prior to
eating or drinking caloric substances] to control [deal
with] blood-sugar [glucose] levels and prevent diabetic
coma [which is preceded by hyperglycemia/ketoacidosis,
but of note, there is, at the same time, a risk of hypo-
glycemia / unconsciousness, and in the worst cases,
death, when the insulin dosage exceeds what's needed
to keep the glucose near the level it's at in persons with-
out a condition which causes glucose anomalies].

The autoimmune disease, for which there is no cure,
affects about 1 million people in the U.S. [estimates
vary, some as low as one-half million, some as high
as 3 million].

Insulin treatment has been the gold standard for [Insul-
initis] type 1 diabetes since its discovery in 1922.

.... Dr. Unger's lab, using mouse models of [Insulinitis]
type 1 diabetes, found that administering leptin instead
of insulin resulted in better management of blood-sugar
variability and lipogenesis, the conversion of simple sugars
into fatty acids.

For the clinical study, 12 to 15 participants will add leptin
twice a day to their standard insulin therapy [and if leptin
has the expected impact, the insulin dosages will have to
be lowered while undergoing leptin therapy] over a five-
month period. The trial will last a total of seven months ...

"Leptin is known to decrease appetite, so it's likely that
participants won't be as hungry," he said. "We hope that
the addition of leptin also reduces the blood levels of cho-
lesterol, which increase the risk of coronary heart disease,
one of the long-term complications of diabetes [High Glu-
cose Conditions]."

Dr. Unger emphasized that the goal is not to find a replace-
ment for insulin, but to obtain stable glucose levels, some-
thing that has eluded monotherapy with insulin. The theory
is that adding leptin might allow a substantial reduction in
insulin dose and lower the risk of low blood glucose levels.

"If it works in humans as well as it does in rodents, it will
be a major step forward," said Dr. Unger. "In rodents, it
eliminated the wide swings in glucose that occur with
insulin alone and lowered indices of cholesterol formation.
The hope is that it will improve both short- and long-term
quality of life for patients with [Insulinitis] type 1 diabetes."

....

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Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
C.ure I.nsulinitis A.ssociation
http://prohuman.net/cureinsulinitisassociation.htm
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