New Pill May Cure Type I Diabetes

A new cure for Type I diabetes may only be three years away. A new pill called FTS may be able to cure Type I diabetics. Dr. Adi Mor of Tel Aviv University adapted the pill called FTS from a drug that is in the final stages of human trials to treat pancreatic cancer. In pancreatic cancer, the pill stops the cancer cells from dividing and spreading. However, in diabetes, the pill blocks killer T cells in the immune system. These T cells destroy the islets in the pancreas that release insulin. Amazingly, when experiments with drug were done on animals, it prevented diabetes in 80% of the rats given the treatment. Since they have alreay proven the drug is safe in the pancreatic trials, doctors expect to go straight to stage two trials in young adults with Type I diabetics.