Thursday, February 21, 2013

Diabetes Cured in Dogs by Gene Therapy


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Researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have found a way to completely cure type 1 diabetes in dogs with a single session of gene therapy. Curing diabetes in mice has been successful for some time now. But, this is the first time that anyone cured Type I Diabetes in a large animal. The next step would be applying this gene therapy to humans. Diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths in 2007. Over 25 million people in the US have diabetes, which accounts for over 8% of the country's population.
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2 comments:

  1. chrisnFebruary 26, 2013 at 6:46 AM

    This is a huge step towards progress in treating a life crippling disease such as DM I. As our country ages and becomes more sick, DM II is also becoming more and more prevalent. Hopefully, in the future, this treatment can be used to fight not only DM I, but DM II, specifically in humans.

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  2. alexasApril 12, 2013 at 6:50 PM

    Diabetes in dogs is a complex disease and is caused by either a lack of the hormone insulin or an inadequate response to insulin. What is very important to understand is that diabetes in your dog is a manageable disorder. This means that your dog can still lead a happy healthy life. The most common diabetes is type one in dogs, which are insulin-dependent diabetes. This occurs when the pancreas is incapable of producing adequate levels of insulin. Certain ways to know if your dog has diabetes is change of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, dehydration, vomiting, and increased urination. Some dogs that are more prone than others are dachshunds, poodles, and samoyeds. I had a dog whom I had to give insulin shots to everyday. It was not hard to do but it seemed painful to my dog. Finding ways to keep animals alive longer is a great feeling. To be able to give dogs two extra genes and no longer have to give shots is pretty cool. The two genes work together to sense and regulate how much glucose is circulating in the blood. The two genes are delivered into the dogs' legs by a harmless virus. One gene makes insulin and the other an enzyme that dictates how much glucose should be absorbed into muscles. If one gene is there the diabetes will not go away. The two gene are required for the treatment to work. Diabetes is very similar in dogs and humans, so hopefully there will be a cure for diabetes in humans soon.

    Here is a video about diabetes in dogs and cats:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqXlv3FTU3o

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