Cancer Drugs May Treat Type 1 Diabetes

[IDemo]

Experiments in mice show Gleevec and Sutent reverse, prevent autoimmune disease

Posted November 18, 2008
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Gleevec, a wonder drug that effectively treats leukemia and other cancers, may also reverse type 1 diabetes, University of California San Francisco, researchers report.

In experiments with mice, they found that Gleevec and a similar cancer drug, Sutent, could prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and is caused by the inability of the body to make insulin.

"Although targeted to the Bcr-Abl kinase, Gleevec has been shown to affect related kinases including platelet-derived growth factor potentially involved in various cell types critical to the development and progression of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes," lead researcher Jeffrey Bluestone, director of the Diabetes Center at the University of California, San Francisco, said.

The study shows that this class of drugs could prevent and reverse diabetes in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, Bluestone said. "Moreover, a significant percentage of the animals remain in long-term remission even after discontinuation of the therapy," he added.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/11/18/cancer-drugs-may-treat-type-1-diabetes.html

[Crunchy Frog]

1. I wonder if it has an effect in other autoimmune diseases.

[trotsky]

2. Hard to put in words what an incredible breakthrough this would be.

Here's hoping it pans out in human trials too.

[IDemo]

3. The fact that these two drugs have already been approved is huge

This should open the door for expedited human trials. I'll be more than happy to volunteer. :hi: