Once Promising Type 1 Diabetes Breakthrough Retracted

Dante

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Diabetes finding once heralded as breakthrough is retracted
In a nutshell, in 2013 it was found that a hormone found in the liver seemed to spur the production of insulin-producing cells in mice, lighting the way for a new approach to treating diabetes. The paper, published in the journal Cell, drew attention around the world, as it suggested a means of boosting insulin by using the body’s own machinery and held out the potential to free millions of diabetes patients from regular injections.
However, further attempts in order to reproduce the results failed and the paper was retracted.
 

haidut

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Diabetes finding once heralded as breakthrough is retracted
In a nutshell, in 2013 it was found that a hormone found in the liver seemed to spur the production of insulin-producing cells in mice, lighting the way for a new approach to treating diabetes. The paper, published in the journal Cell, drew attention around the world, as it suggested a means of boosting insulin by using the body’s own machinery and held out the potential to free millions of diabetes patients from regular injections.
However, further attempts in order to reproduce the results failed and the paper was retracted.

I think this was just an attempt on the original author to get some publicity for himself and his lab. There are plenty of chemicals that are know to treat diabetes in animals, so no need to focus on an obscure, patentable hormone (which also turned out to be ineffective). Pentoxifylline and its metabolite lisofylline have even been tested successfuly in humans.
Lisofylline - Wikipedia
Anti-serotonin drugs can also reverse the condition sometimes. Inhibiting NO, lipolysis and inflammation has also been shown to work and a high dose niacinamide managed to reverse a few cases of diabetes I in children. Unfortunately, not much follow up as done. Niacinamide probably works only in about 20% of the cases but it would still be a major breakthrough if approved as it has almost no toxicity at the doses used in humans. Curing 20% of diabetes I cases for good is no small achievement and can stimulate more research in the area to produce more potent chemicals based on niacinamide.
 

schultz

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I think this was just an attempt on the original author to get some publicity for himself and his lab. There are plenty of chemicals that are know to treat diabetes in animals, so no need to focus on an obscure, patentable hormone (which also turned out to be ineffective). Pentoxifylline and its metabolite lisofylline have even been tested successfuly in humans.
Lisofylline - Wikipedia
Anti-serotonin drugs can also reverse the condition sometimes. Inhibiting NO, lipolysis and inflammation has also been shown to work and a high dose niacinamide managed to reverse a few cases of diabetes I in children. Unfortunately, not much follow up as done. Niacinamide probably works only in about 20% of the cases but it would still be a major breakthrough if approved as it has almost no toxicity at the doses used in humans. Curing 20% of diabetes I cases for good is no small achievement and can stimulate more research in the area to produce more potent chemicals based on niacinamide.

I wonder how high that number would be if there was also a change in diet at the same time the niacin is taken.
 
OP
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Dante

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I think this was just an attempt on the original author to get some publicity for himself and his lab. There are plenty of chemicals that are know to treat diabetes in animals, so no need to focus on an obscure, patentable hormone (which also turned out to be ineffective). Pentoxifylline and its metabolite lisofylline have even been tested successfuly in humans.
Lisofylline - Wikipedia
Anti-serotonin drugs can also reverse the condition sometimes. Inhibiting NO, lipolysis and inflammation has also been shown to work and a high dose niacinamide managed to reverse a few cases of diabetes I in children. Unfortunately, not much follow up as done. Niacinamide probably works only in about 20% of the cases but it would still be a major breakthrough if approved as it has almost no toxicity at the doses used in humans. Curing 20% of diabetes I cases for good is no small achievement and can stimulate more research in the area to produce more potent chemicals based on niacinamide.
or maybe he is a virtuous scientist. I thought type 1 diabetes can't be cured (not talking about remissions ), one had to take insulin injections for life but progress is very fast these days i guess
 

haidut

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or maybe he is a virtuous scientist. I thought type 1 diabetes can't be cured (not talking about remissions ), one had to take insulin injections for life but progress is very fast these days i guess

I don't know much about him, but I am becoming very suspicious of Harvard scientists and bombastic claims. First, it was David Sinclair and resveratrol (Charges of scientific fraud add a bizarre twist to the controversial resveratrol story). Then it was Harvard scientists taking bribes to manipulate study data (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html), then it was Marc Hauser (Marc Hauser - Wikipedia), then it was fraud at Harvard Research Hospital (http://www.whistleblowers.org/press...ing-hospital-to-face-trial-for-research-fraud). That university has been more times in the news for fraud than for scholastic achievements over the last 10 years.
Actually, the human niacinamide studies I mentioned did achieve cures. No subsequent insulin was needed. The lisofylline studies also achieved cures. The problem with niacinamide is that it seems to work in a relatively small percentage of cases and lisofylline has so far been tested mostly on animals. The pancreas can regenerate, and if does then no need for insulin.
 

Tarmander

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I don't know much about him, but I am becoming very suspicious of Harvard scientists and bombastic claims. First, it was David Sinclair and resveratrol (Charges of scientific fraud add a bizarre twist to the controversial resveratrol story). Then it was Harvard scientists taking bribes to manipulate study data (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html), then it was Marc Hauser (Marc Hauser - Wikipedia), then it was fraud at Harvard Research Hospital (http://www.whistleblowers.org/press...ing-hospital-to-face-trial-for-research-fraud). That university has been more times in the news for fraud than for scholastic achievements over the last 10 years.
Actually, the human niacinamide studies I mentioned did achieve cures. No subsequent insulin was needed. The lisofylline studies also achieved cures. The problem with niacinamide is that it seems to work in a relatively small percentage of cases and lisofylline has so far been tested mostly on animals. The pancreas can regenerate, and if does then no need for insulin.

From what I remember the niacinamide experiments were also on kids who did not have type 1 yet, but had some indication through antibodies that they would get it one day. Correct?
 

haidut

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From what I remember the niacinamide experiments were also on kids who did not have type 1 yet, but had some indication through antibodies that they would get it one day. Correct?

One study was on newly diagnosed type I kids. I think 2 out of 8 got cured.
 

haidut

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