Drug prevents type 1 diabetes in mice, study finds

The buildup of a substance in the pancreas during the pre-symptomatic stage of Type 1 diabetes is essential to the development of the disease, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown.

The investigators used a drug to block production of this substance in mouse models, staving off damage to insulin-producing cells and preventing the onset of the autoimmune disorder. The drug, which is currently used in Europe and Asia for treating gallstone-related spasms, has an excellent safety record, the researchers said.

The findings, described in a study to be published online Sept 14 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that it may be possible to prevent the onset of Type 1 diabetes in humans if a similar treatment is initiated before the insulin-producing cells, or beta cells, are attacked by misguided immune cells. Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, afflicts one in 300 people in the United States.