Old TB Drug Might Reverse Type 1 Diabetes?

Tell me that an old tuberculosis drug might be able to reverse Type 1 diabetes, and I’ll have the following reaction: a moment of excitement, followed by the inevitable, “Yeah, we’ll see when that actually happens.”

But it’s Monday morning, my day is fresh, and I’m feeling optimistic. So I’m going to tell you exactly that: an old tuberculosis drug might be able to reverse long-term Type 1 diabetes, according to an article yesterday in Bloomberg News (thanks, Dad, for the link!). If I may quote:

An 80-year-old drug used to protect people against tuberculosis may help reverse Type 1 diabetes, the most severe form of the disease, in patients who have had it for years, an early study in six patients found.

The medicine killed abnormal white blood cells that interfere with insulin production in the pancreas, according to the study presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Diego.

Patients getting two small doses four weeks apart showed signs of restored insulin production for about a week, Denise Faustman, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory, said in a telephone interview.

While many researchers are looking for ways to stop Type 1 diabetes in newly diagnosed patients who still produce some insulin naturally, there are few options for people who have had the disease for more than a decade, Faustman said. The findings suggest it may be possible to regenerate the critical pancreatic cells, she said.

“The trial effectively is showing for the first time that the pancreas can turn on briefly after the first wave of killing the bad T cells,” those that attack the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, she said.

While scientists may disagree about how the cells are restored, “If you are a long-term diabetic, you probably don’t care. It’s my conclusion that the pancreas has many ways to regenerate,” Faustman said.

About 26 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. As many as 10 percent have Type 1, in which the body’s immune system attacks pancreatic cells that produce insulin, the hormone that enables the body to use sugar for energy. Most diabetics have Type 2, an illness linked to obesity and resistance to insulin.

The drug, known as bacillus Calmette-Guerin or BCG, can boost levels of tumor necrosis factor, an immune modulator that has been shown in laboratory tests to eliminate the damaging white blood cells responsible for diabetes, Faustman said.

The Iacocca Foundation provided funding for the study. A second, larger trial is in development, Faustman said. The goal for the second study is to spark insulin production again, maintain it for a longer period and see how high they can get it, she said.

Okay, okay, it was six people. And turning on briefly (and mildly) for a week does not a cure make. But as Faustman points out, any indication that the pancreas can come back is good news to me. Happy Monday.

Catherine Price

Catherine Price (www.catherine-price.com) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism

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Catherine Price

Catherine Price was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism