4 Advances in Diabetes

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Hope for a Type 1 Cure
In an exciting study in mice, researchers reversed new cases of type 1 diabetes using the cancer drugs imatinib (Gleevec) and sunitinib (Sutent). The mice were bred to develop diabetes, but none of them got the condition while on either drug. In mice with early stages of the disease, 80 percent were symptom-free after two weeks of treatment-and when drugs were given for ten weeks, results lasted even after the regimen ended. Up next: years of human studies to check safety and efficacy. (The researchers say the drugs will likely work only for people with new cases of the disease.)
Available: Not for at least 5 years.