Type 1 Diabetes Gets Promising Treatment

The role of a type of T cell in type 1 diabetes has been identified and researchers say that this could help in new treatment methods for childhood diabetes.

Also known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease primarily affecting children and young adults.

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In patients with type 1 diabetes, the body attacks itself by destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas that regulate glucose, or blood sugar.

The research was led by Rusung Tan, a Pathology professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine and co-head of the Immunity in Health and Disease research cluster at CFRI.

The team identified the increased presence of Th17 cells in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

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"T cells are white blood cells and key members of the immune system that control infections," said Tan.

"In healthy individuals, Th17 cells provide a strong defence against bacteria and viruses by guiding the immune system to strongly attack infected targets within our bodies," he added.

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Treatments designed to block Th17 cells are in clinical trials for these diseases.

"The elevated levels of Th17 cells in type 1 diabetes patients suggest that these cells may also play a key role in the early development of this disease in young patients," said Tan.

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"This discovery opens the door to new treatments for childhood diabetes that target Th17 cells," added Tan.

Source-ANI