Free Diabetic Supplies

There are many questions regarding Type 1 diabetes, and there has been steadfast research regarding this type of diabetes, which usually attacks children.  Diabetes is insidious and can be debilitating and is of extreme concern because of its lifelong effects on children because they carry it into adulthood along with its symptoms, side-effects and complications.

Stanford School of Medicine researchers now feel that they have isolated the triggers of type 1 diabetes.  Scientists have known that the disease is triggered by an autoimmune attack on the pancreas, however, up until now, they have not been able to isolate the exact trigger. 

Stanford School of Medicine researchers studied mice and found that the immune signal interferon-alpha begins a domino effect that begins an imbalance in the sugar metabolism, creating a dependence upon insulin injections for life.

Researchers were surprise at the results, since interferon-alpha normally helps the body fight viruses.  In fact, a synthetic form of interferon is given by injection to fight various forms of cancer and also hepatitis C. 

So far, there is no prevention or cure for type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in children or young adults.  Type 1 diabetes is marked by the absence of insulin, which then affects the storage and burning of sugar in the body.

It is impossible to predict who gets diabetes or at what age.  As a result, it is hard to study the disease, except in laboratory animals.  Since type 1 diabetes is lifelong, there are long term consequences that it brings with it including possible high blood pressure, heart disease, possible blindness, amputation, kidney failure and more.

Finding the trigger is a tremendous leap forward in the fight of type 1 diabetes.  The fact that scientists have isolated the very start of the disease will bring answers to many questions.  If researchers keep asking the questions, the answers may very well become evident, and perhaps there will be a way to control or eliminate the disease altogether.