A drug currently used for the skin condition psoriasis could help treat diabetes in children and young people without the need for insulin, a study has found.
Researchers trialled the use of a drug named Ustekinumab, an immunotherapy, in 72 children between the ages of 12 and 18 with recent-onset type-1 diabetes.
They found that the drug was effective in preserving the body’s ability to produce insulin and helped to target “trouble-making cells” in the blood.
Ustekinumab is an injection treatment which patients can give themselves at home. It has already been used effectively in the treatment of more than 100,000 patients with immune conditions, including severe psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and severe ulcerative colitis.
Type 1 diabetes happens when the body cannot produce insulin, which controls blood glucose levels.
Patients currently manage the condition by taking regular insulin injections which help to correct levels of the hormone in the body.
The trial by Cardiff University, King’s College London, Swansea University and the University of Calgary found that ustekinumab could help to treat underlying the immune process that causes diabetes rather than just correcting insulin levels.
Professor Tim Tree, of King’s College London, said: “We have found that ustekinumab reduces the level of a tiny group of immune cells in the blood called Th17.1 cells.
“These cells make up only one in 1,000 of blood immune cells, but they seem to play an important role in destroying insulin producing cells.
“This explains why ustekinumab has so few side effects. It targets the trouble-making cells, while leaving 99% of the immune system intact – a great example of precision medicine.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends ustekinumab for patients aged 12 and over with severe psoriasis that has not responded to other therapies.
Diabetes UK estimates that more 5.6 million people in the UK have diabetes, with 8 per cent of these being type 1 diabetics.
Dr Danijela Tatovic, of the Cardiff University School of Medicine, said: “Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells of the body that produce insulin.
“This eventually leaves the person dependent on insulin injections.
“Researchers are now developing ways to slow or halt the immune system attack. If such treatments can be started early, before all the insulin-making cells are lost, this could prevent or reduce the need for insulin.”
The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Medicine.
