However, the researchers reported that the treatment also reduced insulin resistance in the beta cells and postulated that insulin resistance may play a large part in type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes.
More recently, two groups of researchers have reported that type 2 diabetes is probably not caused by obesity but by inflammation.
And inflammation apparently plays a large part in causing type 1 as well. This same study showed that the treatment that reduced inflammation and normalized blood sugar levels in NOD (type 1 analogues) mice also reduced insulin resistance.
In other words, work done with mice that are analogous to type 1 human patients has produced results that may help type 2s as well as type 1s. And work on inflammation aimed at type 2s has produced results that may help type 1s.
I personally think that we all have the same disease, with some autoimmune destruction of beta cells and some insulin resistance. In type 1s, there's more immune dysfunction and little insulin resistance. In type 2s, there only a little immune dysfunction, not enough to show up on tests for GAD antibody, but a lot of insulin resistance.
I have no evidence for this. It's just intuition. So don't take my theory too seriously.
But I do think type 1s and type 2s should support each other instead of quibbling about where most of the research money is going or pointing a finger at one type and suggesting that those patients don't deserve as much help.
Diabetes stinks. No one understands it like the people who live with it 24/7, and we need all the support we can get. This year, let's all make New Year's resolutions to try to understand the types of diabetes we don't have and to support each other instead of throwing barbs.
Like what you're reading? Get convenient updates from Gretchen Becker on Facebook, iGoogle, your personal blog and more!
