WATCH: A B.C. study is looking at whether a treatment for psoriasis could also work for Type 1 Diabetes. Linda Aylesworth reports.
A new B.C. study could revolutionize the treatment of a disease that affects tens of thousands of Canadians.
Scientists are trying to find out if a drug that’s already being used to treat psoriasis could someday be used to treat Type 1 diabetes.
“This drug will stop the immune attack on cells in pancreas that produce insulin, which are the ones destroyed in Type 1 diabetes,” says researcher Ashish Marwaha. “We hope that if we get this drug early enough before the attack has taken hold on the pancreas, we can prevent the immune attack all together and that will allow the beta cells that produce insulin to regenerate and potentially lead to a cure for the disease.”
The new drug called “Stelara” is being tested for its potential.
It’s used to treat psoriasis, also caused when the body’s immune system turns on itself. It is approved and currently on the market in Canada for the treatment of psoriasis.
This drug could reduce or eliminate the need for insulin injections in people with recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetes.
“We have a very good idea and now we are applying scientific methods to see if our idea has legs,” says BCDiabetes medical director Dr. Tom Elliott.
The trial is a 12-month study.
BCDiabetes is currently recruiting 20 male or female participants to join the trial.
The participants have to be aged 18-35 and have to have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes within the last 100 days.
With files from Linda Aylesworth
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