Two TrialNet Studies Test Effect of Drugs in Slowing Progression
of Type 1 Diabetes Results of two TrialNet studies testing drugs
to slow or stop the immune system’s attack on insulin-producing
cells in people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes were
presented at the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA’s) 71st
Scientific Sessions in San Diego in June 2011 and simultaneously
published online in the Lancet. The studies were conducted by
the National Institutes of Health’s international network of
researchers, Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Study Group, led by the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK). Both studies aimed to preserve secretion of insulin,
the hormone that controls blood glucose levels. One study tested
the drug abatacept, and the other tested a potential vaccine
based on a key protein to which autoimmunity is
directed—glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). When type 1 diabetes
is diagnosed, most patients retain a limited ability to make
insulin, which is generally lost