Researchers at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI) in Melbourne they demonstrated that the baricitiniba commonly prescribed drug for rheumatoid arthritis can suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes.
The results of research were published on New England Journal of Medicine.
Baricitinib: here’s what it can do in the treatment of type 1 diabetes
The first human study in the world conducted by the professor Thomas Kay of the SVI, showed that a drug called baricitinib can safely and effectively preserve the body’s insulin production and suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes in people who started treatment within 100 days of diagnosis.
“When the type 1 diabetes, a considerable number of insulin-producing cells are still present. We wanted to see if we could protect against further destruction of these cells by the immune system. We have shown that baricitinib is safe and effective in slowing type 1 diabetes.” progression of type 1 diabetes in people recently diagnosed,” Professor Kay said.
This innovative research shows promise as the first disease-modifying treatment of its kind for type 1 diabetes that can be administered in the form of baricitinib tablets.
“It is extremely exciting for us to be the first group in the world to test the effectiveness of baricitinib as a potential treatment of type 1 diabetes“said Professor Kay.
“Until now, people with type 1 diabetes have relied oninsulin administered by injection or infusion pump. Our study showed that, if started soon enough after diagnosis and while participants continued to take the drug, their insulin production was maintained. People with type 1 diabetes in the study who were given the drug required significantly less insulin for treatment.”
“It is extremely exciting for us to be the first group in the world to test the efficacy of baricitinib as a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes,” Professor Kay said.
The management of autoimmune disease Lifelong illness is incredibly burdensome for those diagnosed and their families, requiring meticulous glucose monitoring and insulin administration day and night to stay alive.
Until the discovery of insulin more than 100 years ago, type 1 diabetes was a fatal condition. Despite the life-saving role of insulin, the therapy itself is potentially dangerous if too much or too little is administered, and the condition still has long-term complications, including heart attack And stroke, vision disorders, kidney disease And nerve damage.
“We are very optimistic that this treatment will become clinically available. This would represent a huge change in the way type 1 diabetes is managed and we believe it is promising as a fundamental improvement in the ability to control type 1 diabetes“, said the Professor. Helen Thomas, preclinical study lead.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study of the drug baricitinib monitored blood glucose and insulin production of 91 participants over the course of a year. Of these, 60 received baricitinib and 31 a placebo. All study participants were between the ages of 10 and 30 and had started the study within 100 days of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Participants continued with their prescribed insulin therapy for the duration of the study. The researchers monitored the participants’ total daily insulin dose, the amount of insulin produced endogenously (by their own pancreas), blood glucose levels, and HbA1C. HbA1c, or glycated hemoglobin, is a measure of average blood glucose (sugar) levels over the past two to three months.
Baricitinib blocks an enzyme that normally helps transmit signals that regulate the immune system and inflammation. The drug is currently prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, which is another autoimmune disease.
Baricitinib is thought to similarly reduce immune response against insulin-producing cells in people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, thus delaying the onset of full-blown symptoms of the disease, improving glucose control and reducing the risk of harmful effects. long-term health effects.
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