Diabetes Dateline

Oral Insulin Nears Conclusion

A clinical trial currently under way will determine whether oral insulin can prevent the development of type 1 diabetes, particularly in those who have evidence of autoimmunity but not the disease. Oral insulin does not affect blood glucose but instead may affect the action of the immune cells that attack pancreatic beta cells. Participants are currently undergoing final evaluations, and results of the trial will be presented at the American Diabetes Association's 63rd Scientific Sessions in June. The oral insulin trial, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is being conducted by the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, a collaborative network of researchers, clinical centers, and laboratories dedicated to testing new approaches to understanding, preventing, and treating type 1 diabetes. In addition to completing the ongoing Diabetes Prevention Trial for Type 1 (DPT-1), TrialNet clinical centers are planning additional studies. For more information, call 1–800–HALT–DM1 (1–800–425–8361) or see www.niddk.nih.gov/patient/dpt_1/dpt_1.htm on the Internet.

The National Institutes of Health maintains a database of information on more than 4,000 Federal and private medical studies involving patients and others at more than 47,000 locations across the United States. The database is available at http://ClinicalTrials.gov.

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