Type 1 diabetes (often called Juvenile Onset Diabetes) is categorized as a childhood or young adult disease but rarely can occur at any age. Diabetes symptoms sometimes begin out of nowhere and can develop over just a few days. If the person doesn’t have a family history of the disease, the possibility of diabetes may not even be considered. Type 1 diabetes is rare in most Asian, African, and American Indian populations but more common in Caucasians.
Fortunately many of the common diabetic symptoms are similar to the more controllable form of the disease, Type 2 diabetes. Only 5-10% of the people expressing the classic diabetic symptoms will be diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Previous research has suggested that children exposed to the insulin which can naturally be contained in cow’s milk may develop antibodies to insulin. It is possible that in some genetically susceptible children, a continuous, even small-dose early exposure to bovine insulin in cow’s milk may lead to loss of tolerance to insulin and subsequent Type 1 diabetes. Interestingly, where the child had a diabetic mother, rather than a diabetic father, this effect was less marked. {Science
155:26, June 26, 1999]
Vaccination with the meningitis vaccine was found to create more problems than it resolved, causing 54 cases of diabetes per 100,000 children injected.
Signs, symptoms & indicators of Diabetes Type I
Frequent/constant thirst
Intense thirst and hunger are classic signs of diabetes.
Strong appetite
Intense hunger is a sign of Diabetes I.
Not needing to eat during the night or night eating
Constant fatigue
Vision disturbances
Conditions that suggest Diabetes Type I
Glomerular Disease
In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the first sign of deteriorating kidney function is the presence of small amounts of albumin in the urine, a condition called microalbuminuria. As kidney function declines, the amount of albumin in the urine increases, and microalbuminuria becomes full-fledged proteinuria.
Counter Indicators
Dry skin
Signs of Type 1 Diabetes, as it progresses, may include dry skin, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss and a thin, malnourished appearance.
Type 2 diabetes NIDD or type 2 diabetes IDD
Erectile Dysfunction (ED, Impotence)
Overall, diabetes is the single most common condition linked with erectile dysfunction and it is estimated that nearly half of men with diabetes have some degree of erectile dysfunction.
Risk factors for Diabetes Type I
Very low C-Peptide level
C-Peptide levels will be absent or very low when little or no insulin is being produced by the pancreas.
Low CO2
Recent unexplained weight loss
Diabetes Type I suggests the following may be present
Gluten Sensitivity / Celiac Disease
Relatives of people with Type 1 Diabetes, as well as the sufferers themselves, run a 6% risk of developing celiac disease.
Diabetes Type I can lead to
Anemia, Megaloblastic
Relatives of people with Type 1 Diabetes, as well as the sufferers themselves, run a risk of developing celiac disease. The resulting inflammation and tissue damage reduces vitamin B12 absorption and may lead to Pernicious anemia, which occurs in approximately 1 in 50 adults with Type 1 Diabetes.
Dupuytren's Contracture
See the link between Diabetes II and Dupuytren’s Contracture.
Increased Risk of Alzheimer's / Dementia
According to a new study in Neurology, diabetes mellitus may not only damage the function of the eye, limbs, kidneys, and heart – it may also impair the function of the brain and hasten the process of senile dementia.
Researchers found that diabetes mellitus nearly doubles the risk of developing both vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Rotterdam Study, a large prospective analysis which tracked dysglycemia and dementia in over 6000 individuals over age 55. Diagnosis of diabetes was based on World Health Organization criteria using a glucose tolerance test.
A related editorial called Alzheimer’s a possible “brain-type diabetes.” Besides damaging important blood vessel networks and increasing the risk of small “silent” strokes deep inside the brain, dysglycemia may be directly involved in the development of the neurofibrillary tangles, the clumping of nerves and fiber tissue inside the brain characteristic of Alzheimer’s.
The researchers noted that advanced glycation endproducts (AGE), proteins damaged by chronically high blood sugar levels, are commonly found inside these tangles. “In brains of AD patients the receptor for AGE appears overexpressed,” they noted. “Activation of this receptor leads to increased oxidative stress that may result in cellular damage.”
Diabetes also disrupts insulin signaling to other cells in the body. This altered signaling may increase the activity of a neuronal enzyme that stimulates phosphorylated tau proteins to build up, a key trigger mechanism cited as one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s.
NOTE: This study strongly suggests the important potential role of glycation products and insulin response, not just glucose levels, in the etiology of degenerative disease.
Dry skin
Signs of Type 1 Diabetes, as it progresses, may include dry skin, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss and a thin, malnourished appearance.
Erectile Dysfunction (ED, Impotence)
Overall, diabetes is the single most common condition linked with erectile dysfunction and it is estimated that nearly half of men with diabetes have some degree of erectile dysfunction.
Recommendations for Diabetes Type I
Glandular / Live Cell Therapy
Researchers have found a way of inducing human beta cells, the insulin-producing cells destroyed by diabetes, thus offering hope of new treatments for the disease.
Nathalie Fiaschi-Taesch, Ph.D., and Todd Bigatel, both of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues found that human beta cells contain a significant amount of a protein called cdk-6. The researchers then went on to discover that increasing cdk-6 production using a viral vector carrying the cdk-6 gene caused the beta cells to replicate. Further studies showed that it was possible to enhance replication by increasing the production of another molecule called cyclin D1, which is involved in cell cycle control.
Next, the researchers transplanted some of the engineered human beta cells under the outer layer of a kidney in a diabetic mouse. Study results showed that beta cell replication continued and the mouse’s blood sugar levels returned to normal levels. Removing the cells from the mouse caused the mouse to immediately become diabetic again.
“This work provides proof-of-principle that the production of human beta cells can be stimulated, and that the newly generated cells function effectively both in the lab and in a living animal,” said senior author Professor Andrew Stewart. [University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences. January 13th 2009]
2009. A study carried out in Brazil and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, on the use of adult stems cells to treat diabetes, has found that most of the patients in the study group were partially or wholly healed of the disease after receiving injections of stem cells from their own bone marrow.
The procedure, called autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), was carried out on 15 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The report on the study stated that most of the patients no longer needed insulin injections after the treatment and were still “insulin free with normal levels of glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) during a mean 18.8-month follow-up.”
“After a mean follow-up of 29.8 months … the majority of patients achieved insulin independence with good glycemic control.”
Evening Primrose Oil / GLA
A one-year study of 111 diabetic patients with mild neuropathy was conducted. The group was divided, with half receiving 480mg per day GLA and the other half receiving placebo. After one year the change for all 16 para-meters measured was more favorable for the GLA group than the placebo group, with statistical significance for 13 of the parameters. [Diabetes Care 1993;16: pp.8-15]
Herbal Combinations
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 0r Six Flavor Tea Pill is a formula for many yin deficient diseases and the standard formula for diabetes in China.
Reading List
If you are considering insulin, beginning insulin, or have been on it for years but want to improve your control, the answers to your questions are finally here. This book by the authors of Pumping Insulin provides all the information you need to succeed on insulin.
Using Insulin – Everything You Need For Success With Insulin is by John Walsh PA CDE, Ruth Roberts MA, Chandrasekhar Varma MD FACE FACP, and Timothy Bailey MD FACE FACP
Gene Therapy Cures Diabetes in Dogs February 14, 2013
Researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) have succeeded in completely curing type 1 diabetes in dogs with a single session of gene therapy by introducing a “glucose sensor” into muscle. This is the first time the disease has been cured in large animals, a fundamental step towards applying the therapy in humans. The dogs recovered their health and no longer show symptoms of the disease. In some cases, monitoring continued for over four years, with no recurrence of symptoms. – Kurzweil A.I.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
There is considerable evidence that alpha lipoic acid can be used to prevent and treat diabetes, both type I (juvenile diabetes) and type II (mature onset diabetes) and the complications of diabetes.
Vitamin Niacinamide
Niacinamide improves ATP mitochondrial production in the face of diabetogenic chemicals and thus allows Islet cells to stay alive. The Type I honeymoon period can just be extended 12-18 months and insulin requirements may be less.
Vitamin D
See the link between Autoimmune Tendency and Vitamin D.
Key
| Weak or unproven link |
| Strong or generally accepted link |
| Proven definite or direct link |
| Strongly counter-indicative |
| Very strongly or absolutely counter-indicative |
| May do some good |
| Likely to help |
Glossary
Diabetes Mellitus
A disease with increased blood glucose levels due to lack or ineffectiveness of insulin. Diabetes is found in two forms; insulin-dependent diabetes (juvenile-onset) and non-insulin-dependent (adult-onset). Symptoms include increased thirst; increased urination; weight loss in spite of increased appetite; fatigue; nausea; vomiting; frequent infections including bladder, vaginal, and skin; blurred vision; impotence in men; bad breath; cessation of menses; diminished skin fullness. Other symptoms include bleeding gums; ear noise/buzzing; diarrhea; depression; confusion.
Insulin
A hormone secreted by the pancreas in response to elevated blood glucose levels. Insulin stimulates the liver, muscles, and fat cells to remove glucose from the blood for use or storage.
Antibody
A type of serum protein (globulin) synthesized by white blood cells of the lymphoid type in response to an antigenic (foreign substance) stimulus. Antibodies are complex substances formed to neutralize or destroy these antigens in the blood. Antibody activity normally fights infection but can be damaging in allergies and a group of diseases that are called autoimmune diseases.
Celiac Disease
(Gluten sensitivity) A digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten. Common symptoms include diarrhea, increased appetite, bloating, weight loss, irritability and fatigue. Gluten is found in wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, barley and sometimes oats.
Cobalamin
Vitamin B-12. Essential for normal growth and functioning of all body cells, especially those of bone marrow (red blood cell formation), gastrointestinal tract and nervous system, it prevents pernicious anemia and plays a crucial part in the reproduction of every cell of the body i.e. synthesis of genetic material (DNA).
Pernicious Anemia
Anemia caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Contracture
An abnormal, often permanent shortening, as of muscle or scar tissue, that results in distortion or deformity, especially of a joint of the body.
Dementia
An acquired progressive impairment of intellectual function. Marked compromise exists in at least three of the following mental activity spheres: memory, language, personality, visuospatial skills, and cognition (i.e., abstraction and calculation).
Vascular Dementia
Mental incapacity due to inadequate blood flow to the brain.
Alzheimer's Disease
A progressive disease of the middle-aged and elderly, characterized by loss of function and death of nerve cells in several areas of the brain, leading to loss of mental functions such as memory and learning. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia.
Glucose
A sugar that is the simplest form of carbohydrate. It is commonly referred to as blood sugar. The body breaks down carbohydrates in foods into glucose, which serves as the primary fuel for the muscles and the brain.
Protein
Compounds composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen present in the body and in foods that form complex combinations of amino acids. Protein is essential for life and is used for growth and repair. Foods that supply the body with protein include animal products, grains, legumes, and vegetables. Proteins from animal sources contain the essential amino acids. Proteins are changed to amino acids in the body.
Enzymes
Specific protein catalysts produced by the cells that are crucial in chemical reactions and in building up or synthesizing most compounds in the body. Each enzyme performs a specific function without itself being consumed. For example, the digestive enzyme amylase acts on carbohydrates in foods to break them down.