In a major advance in the use of gene therapy for treating type 1 diabetes, researchers have shown that this approach can provide beneficial therapeutic effects in dogs for up to four years without causing hypoglycemia, according to a study published recently in the medical journal Diabetes.
Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain had previously shown positive effects using gene therapy to regulate glycemic control in mice. This study was the first to show long-term beneficial effects in large animals, a major step toward ultimately testing the procedure in humans.
In this study, dogs were injected with two genes: one to produce insulin and another that acts as a "glucose sensor." While this is not a cure for type 1 diabetes, researchers consider it to be a major advance in possible treatment.
-Source: American Diabetes Association
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, October 2013
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