Delay diabetes with immunosuppressants?

Immunosuppressants may be helpful in diabetes treatment

10.11.2011

With the help of so-called immunosuppressants, physicians of the research group Diabetes e.V. at the Helmholtz Center in Munich hope to be able to help type 1 diabetics in the future. The immunosuppressants are said to delay the course of the disease significantly when administered immediately after the onset of the disease, said Deputy Chairman of the Research Unit, Michael Hummel.

In the run-up to the World Diabetes Day on November 14, the researchers of the research group Diabetes pointed to the novel approaches to the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Michael Hummel and colleagues emphasized the special effect of a drug from cancer medicine that prevents the destruction of beta cells and thus significantly slows down the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Targeted intervention in the immune system to combat diabetes
In contrast to type 2 diabetes (old-age diabetes), which is usually characterized by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency, type 1 diabetes destroys the beta cells needed to produce insulin as part of an autoimmune reaction and the organism is no longer able to needed to produce insulin. Since the destruction of the beta cells is final, there are no possibilities for the successful treatment of type 1 diabetes. With the help of immunosuppressive drugs, however, this could possibly change, so the hope of the scientists of the Helmholtz Center in Munich. The drugs work „very targeted in the immune system“ and could prevent or at least delay the destruction of beta cells, explained Michael Hummel. The procedure will „currently being tested in trials with patients“, starting treatment immediately after the onset of type 1 diabetes. For in the course of the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes, the body's own beta cells are only destroyed over time by misguided immune reactions. In order to preserve as many as possible of the insulin-producing beta cells from destruction by their own organism, the immunosuppressants must therefore be administered as early as possible.

Protect insulin-producing beta cells from autoimmune reactions
According to the researchers of the Helmholtz Center, to avoid type 1 diabetes, immunomodulation with the help of special autoantigens, which can be administered as a type of vaccine, is also available. So could possibly also avoid the autoimmune reaction of the organism against the insulin-producing beta cells, where, according to Michael Hummel „even a success would be if a Betazellreserve could be obtained.“ Because the organism would continue to produce a remnant insulin itself and the dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels could be significantly reduced, said the deputy chairman of the research group diabetes. In this way, the particularly threatening hypoglycaemia would be avoided or significantly rarer and health risks for those affected noticeably reduced, the experts said. According to Michael Hummel, the first study with the use of immunosuppressants „a certain positive effect“ shown, but so far none „Breakthrough in the sense of a cure“ brought.

Identify diabetes-causing environmental factors
As more and more people in the developed world have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in recent decades, researchers around the world are searching intensively for ways to treat the previously incurable autoimmune disease. As the cause of the growing number of affected people call the experts a variety of environmental factors that favor a malfunction of the immune system. In addition, Michael Hummel explained, „that early factors such as infant nutrition or possibly viral infections could influence and accelerate the course of the disease.“ According to the Deputy Chairman of the Research Unit Diabetes, this is „Aim of research“ also one „Identification of triggering environmental factors so that they can then be changed in the next step in the sense of disease prevention.“ Diabetes preventive effects such as those found when breastfeeding, for example, are of interest here. According to the expert, children who have been breastfed for at least four months are at significantly lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes than children who were fed on foods containing components of certain cereal products. (Fp)

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