Cancer Drugs May Reverse Diabetes

By: Peter Kent Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recently reported the results of a study that successfully reversed and prevented type 1 diabetes with the administration of two cancer treatments. The drugs, known as imatinib (Gleevec) and sunitinib (Sutent), are normally used to treat a variety of cancers including gastrointestinal stomach tumors (GIST).

Approximately 80 percent of type 1 diabetes patients went into remission and "worked permanently in 80 percent of those that go into remission, " according to news reports. When the cancer treatments were administered "before the onset of autoimmune diabetes, prevented development" of the disease.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is considered a breakthrough for type 1 diabetes patients who have very few effective drugs available to them, according to experts at the UCSF Diabetes Center.

Science Daily reported that research is expected to continue on the cancer treatments and the associated findings until a safe and efficient clinical trial for humans can be adequately developed.

Diabetes Types 1 and 2

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are unique and have distinct characteristics in their makeup. Additionally, medications for either condition are markedly different and cannot be taken for the opposite condition as severe health risks may occur.

The Mayo Clinic reported that type 2 diabetes is "a chronic condition that affects the way the body metabolizes sugar," whereas the Science Daily news article is a "type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune response that destroys insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas,."

Both conditions are, however, preceded by pre-diabetes, which is when "blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes," according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC), which is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Individuals with pre-diabetes are able to reduce their risk of either condition by participating in physical activity as well as weight loss. However, it is still important for individuals at risk for pre-diabetes and diabetes to not only speak with their physician on the disease, but to also know the signs and symptoms of diabetes, which include the following as described by the NDIC:

* blurry eyesight

* dry, itchy skin

* slow-healing sores

* unexplained weight loss

* urinating often

* excessively thirsty and hungry

* feeling tired

* losing feeling in the feet or experiencing a tingling sensation in the feet

Prescription Drugs For Diabetes

Currently, there are an array of diabetes drugs flooding the market, and, several of those may have severe side effects that are often overlooked by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is severely understaffed and underfunded according to a Reader’s Digest magazine news article, and by physicians as well as negligent patients.

For example, Avandia is one such drug, that currently exists on shelves but is associated with severe side effects. Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, is a type 2 diabetes drug that has been linked to both an increased risk of heart disease and bone fractures among patients, according to a 2007 article in The New England Journal of Medicine and a Swiss study.

While the drug has been allegedly linked to hazardous side effects, the FDA has done little to prevent these potential Avandia dangers from occurring. It may be necessary for an Avandia victim to contact an experienced pharmaceutical attorney for the most information on a potential class action lawsuit.

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