Dog-a-betes
I can only imagine the spokespuppy for doggie diabetes is a
bull dog named Woof-ford Brimley, who, instead of barking, speaks in a series
of short-breathed and amiable growls. As it turns out, this may not have been
too far off in Spain -- at least for a short while -- where beagle puppies were
induced to mimic Type 1 diabetes in humans and then subsequently cured. In a
recent article,
Spanish researchers have taken what could potentially be the first steps toward
a cure for humans.
After successful testing in mice, the Spanish research team
moved on to dogs. The puppies were between 6 and 12 months old when they were “chemically
induced” with the autoimmune blood sugar disease, after which the dogs were “given
daily insulin injections.” After developing a gene therapy to produce insulin
and detect the “amount of glucose in skeletal muscles,” the researchers
administered the procedure in “a single session of numerous injections in the
dog’s rear legs” -- and it worked. After 4 years of continued blood sugar
measurements, the dog’s remained healthy without receiving insulin or experiencing
any long term complications from the therapy.
“Our data [represents] the first demonstration of long-term
correction of diabetes in a large animal model using gene transfer,” wrote the
researchers.
Despite positive results overall, the research I still met
with moderate skepticism. Fatima Bosch, lead researcher and director of animal
biotechnology and gene therapy at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, noted
further testing on dogs with naturally occurring diabetes as the “next step” in
research. As domesticated animals will have more varying glucose levels, the
study will include pets for result more accurately portraying what a human
would encounter.
While contemporaries, Camillo Ricordi, MD, director of
diabetes research and the cell transplant center at the University of Miami,
and Massimo Trucco, MD, chief of the division of immunogenics at the Children’s
Hospital of Pittsburgh, agreed that the study is a good first step, they also
noted the success of this therapy remains questionable in further testing. Ricordi
cited the research as “a remarkable initial finding,” but the results could
change in the case of naturally occurring diabetes. While Trucco pointed out
that, due to the controlled nature of the study, real-life applications might
not prove successful.
With genetic sequencing technology and the corresponding treatment
getting better every day, no one can be sure what the future holds. Regardless
of the outcome of this study or its continued research, it marks a step towards
progress.