Melbourne researchers are a step closer to developing a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes.
They are testing a nasal vaccine that could potentially prevent the onset of the disease. A study conducted by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institude, included 52 adults with early signs of the disease, who were given either the nasal spray or placebo.
“The results showed that the vaccine allowed the immune system to restore immune tolerance to insulin,” said the Institute’s Professor Len Harrison in a statement. “When subsequently given insulin by injection, the participants who had received the nasal insulin vaccine were found to be desensitised to insulin.”
Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s own immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas which leads to a lack of insulin, causing some serious health issues. The vaccine would train the body’s immune system not to attack insulin and, because it is delivered nasally, it can bypass the gut, which would break down the insulin and render it ineffective. Harrison added that if successful for Type 1 diabetes, the vaccine could also be tested for other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.