Now a nasal spray vaccine to fight diabetes

Also called "Insulin-dependent diabetes" or "Juvenile diabetes," the type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition in which the body’s immune response mistakenly attacks the body’s own cells.

T1D could shorten life, cause blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputation.

Nasal spray to fight T1D
Now, the Australian researchers have developed a breakthrough nasal spray vaccine that they claim can stop the body’s immune system from attacking insulin-producing cells, the express.co.uk reported.

The nasal vaccine earlier proved promising in preventing the development of type 1 diabetes in mice. Now they have tested the nasal spray vaccine on humans and found the vaccine equally effective in preventing the disease in humans.

Showed promise in trial
In the trial, the research team, headed by immunologist professor Len Harrison, of Australia's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, found that the spray suppressed the immune response to insulin, a hormone needed by the body to control blood sugar levels, in 52 adults with early type 1 diabetes.

For the study, Harrison and his team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital treated participants either with the nasal insulin vaccine or a placebo weekly for 12 months.

"The results showed that the vaccine allowed the immune system to restore immune tolerance to insulin," the Daily Express quoted Harrison as saying.

"When subsequently given insulin by injection, the participants who had received the nasal insulin vaccine were found to be desensitized to insulin."

Spray to treat newly diagnosed T1D
The researchers, however, said that the spray is not intended as a treatment for people who already have diabetes.

In the latest study, all participants had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the previous year and were controlling their glucose levels using diet and oral drugs, and not yet needed insulin injections.

Findings of the research appear in the April 2011 issue of the journal 'Diabetes.'

About diabetes and its kinds
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which results from the deficiency of insulin in the body, leading to excessive sugar build up.

It's the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and can cause heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations of all or part of the legs.

The World Health Organization recognizes two main forms of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that leaves the body without insulin to regulate the metabolism of sugar. It is the condition in which the body attacks itself, destroying the pancreatic beta cells that the body needs to regulate blood sugar or glucose. The cells in the pancreas produce insulin, the hormone that regulates blood glucose.

Type 2 is characterized by tissue-wide insulin resistance and varies widely; it sometimes progresses to loss of beta cell function. Types 1 and 2 are incurable chronic conditions, but have been treatable since insulin became medically available in 1921.