A small pilot study in which researchers attempted to slow attacks mounted by the immune system on insulin-producing cells in type 1 diabetes has given promising results.
In the study reported here, DIAGNODE, researchers from Linköping University have injected GAD-alum directly into lymph nodes in the groin, rather than under the skin, in order to determine whether this causes the immune response to become more tolerant towards the body's own GAD protein.
Six patients aged 20-22 years who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes up to 6 months previously were included in the study.
The study by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden has been published in the scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine.
"If these results are confirmed when we test more patients, it would be an extremely important advance. The way in which type 1 diabetes progresses differs between individuals for many reasons, and this means that it is not necessary to find a treatment that has excellent effects for everyone. Even if it helps only half of patients, this would be a major step forward," says Johnny Ludvigsson.
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