Using new treatment, diabetes may be reversible

A new study shows that Type 1 diabetes may be reversible using a specific hormone alteration process.

For the study, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center used mice and tested how altering a certain hormone may be effective to change how the disease affects the body.

The hormone scientists were most interested in was glucagon. Glucagon is responsible for blood sugar regulation in all individuals.

Researchers noticed that when glucagon was suppressed in mice, insulin was no long important, as glucose was maintained at steady levels.

Scientists are extremely excited by the results of this study and explain that many believe insulin is the largest factor for diabetes. However, as many diabetes maintenance and treatment programs deal with a balanced glucose level, this new treatment may be as close to a cure as possible.

The mice used in testing were all known to be healthy and have healthy levels of insulin as testing began.

New studies will be conducted about the effectiveness of this treatment on humans and whether or not it can effectively remove the need for insulin treatments.

The study can be found in Diabetes.