| Since the discovery of insulin more than 80 years ago, biomedical research—much of it sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)—has continued to improve the lives and health of diabetes patients while at the same time investing in strategies that are moving us closer to our ultimate goal of a cure.
PROGRESS:
Genetics: Discovery of genes that increase susceptibility to type 1 diabetes is revealing new insights into the underlying defects involved in this disease and and opening up new possibilities for identifying individuals who are at high risk of type 1 diabetes. Read more...
Immunology: A new drug has been shown in human clinical trials to stabilize or reverse the immune attack of type 1 diabetes and, for the first time, provides proof-of-concept that the clinical course of this disease can be altered. Read more...
Islet Transplantation: New islet transplantation protocols have allowed many patients to be free from insulin therapy for a year or more. This remarkable advance has revitalized efforts to find a cell-based treatment for type 1 diabetes. Read more...
Diabetes Management: Advances in mechanical technology for continuous glucose monitoring have brought the field closer to realizing an "artificial pancreas" that could function much like a normal pancreas with minimal input from the patient. Read more...
Retinopathy: Drugs originally designed for use in cancer therapy are being repositioned to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients with diabetic eye disease, the leading cause of blindness in working age adults. Read more...
Vascular Complications: Breakthroughs in our understanding of blood vessel injury that ultimately damages the kidneys and cardiovascular system are leading to new therapeutic strategies, many of which are in preclinical testing in animal models. Read more...
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