This page covers treatments that I don't consider possible cures for type-1 diabetes, but that I get asked about.
These entries are in alphabetical order.
I'm quite sure that she had not started human trials, so that means that she is more than 10 years out. But I can not find any report that she has done any animal testing at all. If she has not, that would put her anywhere from 15 to 30 years away from a cure. Indeed, if she ever produces a cure. Since only about 15% of animal cures are ever even tried in people, and I don't even want to guess how many untested ideas ever get to the animal testing phase.....)
These guys published a press release recently, and so have been in the news. The press release was issued because they filed to get patient on their technology. The press release claims an 80% success rate but does not describe the treatment in any way. They do say that whatever it is, it will be available commercially in Germany in 2010, and other places after that.
Personally, I'll be ignoring this press release, because I can not find a single study in the scientific literature, which reports on their treatment, or it's success rate. I can't even find a reference to VUCCC prior to this press release.
press release: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/businesswire/2010/03/03/businesswire136160731.html
I'd like to thank Ellen for emailing VUCCC and posting their reply, which you can read here: http://islet.org/forum/messages/53711.htm
They make a number of claims which I find hard to believe. For example: they started phase-I human trials in 1990. They have completed phase-III trials (in 1996), and have since done two phase-IV trials (IV generally means more/new testing on already approved treatments) since then. They claim to have cured outright ("disease free") over 10,000 people (none of whom have ever posted to a public forum, of course....) They claim to have three papers written (one in 1996, another in 2002, and the third 2006) just waiting for the patient so they could be submitted to "Nature or a Journal of similar stature". So the authors of that first paper just sat on it for 14 years?
This is their description of their technology, starting with the fact that in type-1 diabetes, the body's own immune cells attack the body's own beta cells:
These haywire immune cells are produced by hibernating virus particles found in all Diabetics' islet cells. ... The goal of our treatment is to stimulate the islet cells to express these hibernating virus particles and enable the body to eliminate the cells carrying the hibernating particles once and for all which rids the body of these "bad" immune cells and replaces them with low physiological levels of inactive memory cells that can no longer attack the islet cells - thus stopping beta-cell damage and restoring proper immune function.
That first sentence about hibernating virus particles is nothing I've ever heard before, so I"m not tempted to put much faith in the rest. (Plus it sounds like quack treatments I have heard of in the past.) And without published results, faith and wishful thinking is really all there is. But if anyone flies to Germany this year and gets cured, please do tell! :-)