Type i diabetes: we think it's preventable, but how?

Although type II diabetes grabs the headlines, type I has quietly reached epidemic levels. Type I, or insulin-dependent diabetes, tends to afflict children and young adult. Although it cannot be treated, tests have indicated that it can be prevented. Unfortunately, all these tests have been carried out on animals, and everyone knows what we think about those.

The best hope of treatment occurs during the remission period, which can last for months or even longer. The best hope offered by conventional medicine is high-dose nicotinamide. It shouldn't be given to children, but doctors may feel they have little option, and it can cause anaphylactic shock.

Worse, according to a new study, it doesn't work. They tracked a group of children who were genetically disposed to develop diabetes. Of the 552 in the original group, 159 went on to develop diabetes, 82 of whom were given nicotinamide and the rest had a placebo. Sadly, the progress of the disease didn't differ between the two groups.

So while we cling to the idea that type I diabetes is preventable, we still do not know how.

(Source: The Lancet, 2004; 363: 925-31).