Gordon, Serena. (June 10, 2019) Drug May Help Delay Onset of Type 1 Diabetes. U.S.News. Available at https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-06-10/drug-may-help-delay-onset-of-type-1-diabetes
This article talks about a new drug, teplizumab, being able to potentially postpone the onset of Type I Diabetes. Type I Diabetes occurs when the pancreas creates little to no insulin. Teplizumab targets specific immune cells that destroy beta cells (cells that produce insulin). The treatment would not prevent the development of type 1 diabetes, but it would slow it down. The hope of the treatment is to decrease the social, economic, psychological, and biological burden of the disease.
The study had 76 participants older than 8 years. The majority of participants were under 18 years old. All participants had a very high risk of developing type 1 diabetes; they had a relative diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, there was evidence supporting the degradation of their beta-cells, and their bodies showed signs of improper blood sugar processing. The article doesn’t state where this study was conducted. I would assume participants would go to a health facility to receive treatment on a daily basis and carry out their regular routine otherwise. One group was given teplizumab and the other group was given a placebo intravenously for two weeks. After the two weeks, participants were followed until they developed type 1 diabetes. Some participants haven’t developed type 1 diabetes and are still being followed. The study found that teplizumab was able to postpone the onset of diabetes for an average of 48 months. Participants that were given the placebo developed type 1 diabetes in an average of 24 months. According to this study, teplizumab was able to postpone the onset of type 1 diabetes in high-risk populations for an estimated 1 year. Additionally, 43% of the group treated with teplizumab developed type 1 diabetes while 72% of the placebo group developed type 1 diabetes.
I am not that convinced by the claims about this intervention’s effectiveness. According to the article, teplizumab is a relatively new drug. Furthermore, teplizumab is “the first study to show any drug can delay type 1 diabetes diagnosis a median of two years,” says study lead author Dr. Kevan Herold. This makes me want to see more research testing the effectiveness of it. The article doesn’t state whether the differences observed between the treatment and control group was statistically significant. I am unsure if this difference was due to external environmental factors or not. The article also doesn’t mention if the study controlled for any additional medical conditions or environmental factors that could influence the rate at which beta cells are destroyed.
This intervention is likely to catch on. Millions of people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes every year. People with type 1 diabetes need insulin and will have to purchase it no matter what price it is. The psychological burden of being diagnosed can be great. Solutions to cure or alleviate the complications associated with type 1 diabetes are in high demand. This article describes the innovators who begin to test a new drug to see how it affects the onset of type 1 diabetes. Early adopters will see this as something new, exciting, and positive for everyone. They will adopt this innovation quickly and easily. With enough research and success stories supporting that teplizumab can delay the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, the early majority will adopt this intervention. If teplizumab has gained a good reputation and is already widely used, the late majority will slowly adopt the intervention. The laggards may be pressured to adopt the intervention by other groups or maybe finally persuaded by an overwhelming number of statistics in favor of the intervention. Key decision makers are likely to agree to recommend and fund this because of the reasons stated earlier. An intervention that prolongs the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes would affect millions of at-risk people and could greatly decrease the economic and psychological burden of the disease.
I wonder if teplizumab is affecting some people’s genetics to delay the onset of Type 1 Diabetes. It would be interesting if a genetic treatment could work without harming people.