insulin pill to slow or prevent type 1

[TripleThreat]

did anyone watch abc tonight about the diabetic pill for children who have possibility of becoming diabetic missed half of broadcast just wondering if anyone caught all of it

[Ellen]

I saw it. I also think it's a terrible waste of money to continue trying to use oral insulin to delay onset or prevent type 1. Numerous studies have refuted efficacy. I wish I could find the abstract from one old study that concluded the oral insulin accelerated onset in rats.

Here's one recent abstract.

Diabetologia. 2007 Aug;50(8):1603-6. Epub 2007 Jun 22. Links
Effect of oral insulin on insulin autoantibody levels in the Diabetes Prevention Trial Type 1 oral insulin study.Barker JM, McFann KK, Orban T.
Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA. jennifer.barker@uchsc.edu

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Our aim was to evaluate insulin autoantibody (IAA) levels over time in the Diabetes Prevention Trial Type 1 (DPT-1) oral insulin study to determine the effect of oral insulin compared with placebo on IAA levels. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The DPT-1 trial randomised 372 relatives of subjects with type 1 diabetes, positive for IAA and with normal IVGTTs and OGTTs, to oral insulin 7.5 mg daily or placebo. Subjects were followed with IVGTTs, OGTTs and serial IAA measurements. The change in IAA level over time was modelled statistically using mixed model longitudinal data analysis with spatial exponential law for unevenly spaced data. In a separate analysis, subjects were divided into four groups by treatment and diabetes status at the end of the study. IAA levels were compared amongst the groups at randomisation, last sampling and at the maximum level. RESULTS: Longitudinal data analysis showed that treatment did not affect levels of IAA over time. After controlling for age, the IAA levels at randomisation and the last visit and the maximum values were different in the four groups. Significantly higher levels were noted in groups that developed diabetes compared with those that did not, with no significant difference by treatment group. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This suggests that IAA levels over time were not influenced by oral insulin in subjects already positive for IAA at the start of treatment.

PMID: 17583798 [PubMed - in process]

[Jeff]

There was a subset of participants in DPT-1 who benefited from the oral insulin. That is the continuation part -- looking for more of those people and continuing oral insulin in that sub population.

[Ellen]

I thought that subset was persons with presence of IAA. Do you know if that's true?

I also think it's overkill to perform this study at 150 locations and to allocate so much money to it, before proving efficacy in a study performed at half as many locations.

[Brensdad]

Oh my God, I am in abbreviation hell.

[Heather(CA)]

There was a subset of participants in DPT-1 who benefited from the oral insulin. That is the continuation part -- looking for more of those people and continuing oral insulin in that sub population.

I've never had my older son tested, I wasn't interested in worrying about something unless it happened. Do you think this makes it worth testing him? Is it making a differance? I don't think he could handle D as well as Seth has. He's very smart, but the pain tollerance just isn't there:(

[Heather(CA)]

did anyone watch abc tonight about the diabetic pill for children who have possibility of becoming diabetic missed half of broadcast just wondering if anyone caught all of it

The pill is an insulin...It's supposed to delay if not prevent the onset of Type 1 D according to the broadcast.

[Ellen]

Oh my God, I am in abbreviation hell.

Hope this helps

IAA - Insulin Autoantibodies - one marker found in the blood for increased propensity to develop type 1 diabetes, also sometimes found at diagnosis.

IVGTT - Patient/Participant receives bolused glucose directly into the vein which significantly raises the blood glucose level (even in a person without diabetes). Blood tests are taken several times over the next hours to determine first phase insulin response (FPIR), to see if endogenous insulin is being produced properly in response to the glucose.

OGTT - Patient/Participant ingests glucose (usually by drinking a glucose solution) and then the blood is tested a few times over hours to determine how efficiently the body handles the glucose.

DPT-1 - Diabetes Prevention Trial - Type 1
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/patient/dpt_1/dpt_1.htm

What was the Diabetes Prevention Trial--Type 1?
The Diabetes Prevention Trial--Type 1 (DPT-1) consisted of two clinical trials that sought to delay or prevent type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Nine medical centers and more than 350 clinics in the United States and Canada took part in the two trials of the DPT-1.