Breakthrough in Type 1 diabetes treatment

Researchers in the UK uncovered a treatment for Type 1 diabetes that could help thousands of people live longer.

The team at University College London discovered biomarkers they hope will identify people with the disease who would benefit from a drug currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Abatacept, an immunotherapy medicine, has been effective in treating one in three patients with Type 1 diabetes.

“The next step will be to test this in more people and explore whether it works for other therapies and other autoimmune diseases,” said Professor Lucy Walker, who led the research group at UCL.

“New, improved versions of abatacept have now been developed and it will be particularly exciting to see if the biomarker approach is applicable to these.”

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at the charity Diabetes UK, said: “Immunotherapies hold huge promise to slow the progression of Type 1 diabetes in people newly diagnosed or at high risk of the condition, and to bring us closer to a cure. But research we’ve seen in this area over the years hasn’t translated into licensed, effective treatments.

“Not only would this be a huge leap forward in how we treat Type 1 diabetes, it could also inspire new investment into immunotherapy research so we can really see progress accelerate.”

People with the disease cannot make insulin, causing glucose to build up in the blood.