Ah, the pancreas. That organ behind the stomach that’s always been the target of angst and anger for us PWDs (people with diabetes). We bemoan why it went on permanent vacation and daydream about kick-starting it…
But all of our complaining might be for naught. Turns out there might be an even bigger, badder enemy of healthy blood sugars: the thymus!
… the who??
Let me tell you a little about this other gland:
The…
Read more »
By
AmyT on
January 17, 2012
In the area of beta cell preservation, there’s a (sort of) new name in the spotlight: Andromeda Biotech, Ltd. with its DiaPep277 treatment. Based in Israel, this company announced last month that phase III clinical trials showed significant preservation of C-peptide levels, a marker for assessing insulin secretion by pancreatic cells. Andromeda joins the ranks of companies like Tolerx and Macrogenics/Lilly, who’ve been vocal about their work to preserve beta cell functioning in newly diagnosed patients…
Read more »
We were familiar with the company ViaCyte through its former identity as NovoCell, when we reported that they’d managed to successfully control diabetes in mice using embryonic stem cells back in 2008.
Last year, they changed their name, but their two-part mission remained the same: first, to create fully functioning beta cells (the specific kind of islet cells that make insulin and amylin) from embryonic stem cells, and then to find a way to combat…
Read more »
Imagine. Imagine that you could not eating ANYTHING with wheat in it, or on it, without getting sick. ZERO regular bread, pastries, cookies or bagels. No regular pasta. Or crackers. Or cupcakes. Or breakfast cereal. Nothing breaded, even fish. Nothing made with hidden gluten, like soy sauce.
You sit down at a restaurant with friends or family and peruse the 16-page menu. You identify a couple of salads that look safe, provided the chef remembers…
Read more »
By
AmyT on
December 1, 2009
Living in the United States, we are often stuck in a bubble of US-centric news. This is true for diabetes as much as any other topic. But as World Diabetes Day attests to, diabetes is hardly just an American thing. In reality, there’s much more going on in the global diabetes research arena than you might think (since our media announcements are pretty much limited to, err, Boston, Miami and the Bay Area). So today,…
Read more »
