Cure in sight for diabetics Hookworm trial ‘looking good’
THE national peak body for diabetes support believes a clinical trial that will use parasitic worms to treat Type 2 diabetes should have no trouble finding volunteers.
James Cook University Cairns researchers are recruiting overweight women aged 18-44, who are deemed as being at-risk of Type 2 diabetes, for the world-first clinical trial that will involve infecting participants with hookworms.
Some studies have shown that infections of the parasites can protect a body against diabetes by releasing anti-inflammatory molecules.
Diabetes Queensland spokesman Cameron Thompson said the organisation was excited by the research project, saying it looked “really good.”
“There are just so many lines of inquiry for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes worldwide that appear to be opening up in research,” he said. “There’s good reason for people with diabetes to feel optimistic, not just this particular program, but other ones looking at things like the microbiota in the gut.
“Our understanding is it’s just really starting to take off.
“It’s really quite prospective, and we really need something like this, because the rates of diabetes have been pretty horrendous.”
Statistics show 81 per cent of Queenslanders with Type 2 diabetes who have registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme live outside Brisbane.
Mr Thompson, who has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, believed JCU would have no trouble recruiting volunteers for its human clinical trials.
“At the moment we’ve got people who are at risk of diabetes withdrawing their superannuation to fund bariatric surgery,” he said.
“If you’re prepared to go to that length, something like this (research) has got merit.
“In the end it has to stand on its own two feet if it’s going to work.
“The potential there is something we’ve got to look at, but there is plenty of evidence there that points to the potential for a positive outcome.”
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