During the month of November, I have joined with others at Blogcritics in "Blogging for a Cure" for diabetes. Millions of Americans are afflicted with diabetes. Each and every one of us is impacted in some way, either directly because we have the disease or know someone who does, or indirectly, because healthcare costs for everyone are higher due to the high cost of treating diabetes.

Each one of us is responsible for our own health. The most important thing I can do in the fight against diabetes is to take care of myself: eat properly, get enough exercise, keep my weight at an appropriate level for my build, and so on. If each of us did that, diabetes would still occur, but it wouldn't be nearly as prevalent as it is.

Reality intrudes, unfortunately. The typical American lifestyle is not particularly healthy. Obesity is a national epidemic. Diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, is likely to become much more prevalent, not less.

Thankfully, researchers are exploring ways to treat and prevent diabetes, despite our unhealthy lifestyles, and they are meeting with success. New drugs and other therapies designed to prevent or treat diabetes or its effects are being discovered or tested right now. In the following paragraphs, I'll point you to information on some of the experimental and current treatments I've learned about.

Islet Transplantation

The American Diabetes Association has a page on their web site describing this potential treatment for Type 1 diabetes. This form of diabetes (also known as childhood diabetes) is caused due to destruction of the islet cells in the pancreas which produce insulin. It has been recognized for many years that if the islet cells in the pancreas of a person with Type 1 diabetes could be replaced via transplantation, then perhaps the disease could be eliminated. Until recently, however, islet cell transplantation has not been very successful in humans. However, scientists at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada developed what is known as the "Edmonton protocol," which allows islet cells to be successfully transplanted into a diabetic patient's liver. Once the islet cells start functioning, the patient often can stop daily injections of insulin.

This treatment is not perfect, as it requires the patient to take anti-rejection drugs, the supply of donor islet cells is limited, and it does require surgery. Research is continuing in this promising field. More on this later in this article.

Drug Therapies

There are a large number of drugs being tested for treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, attacking the problems of these diseases from different angles.

- Some drugs slow the rate in which blood sugar levels rise after meals.

- Some drugs mimic the effects of naturally-occurring hormones that stimulate insulin production, increase the bodies' sensitivity to insulin, reduce appetite, and slow digestion.

- On the other hand, some of the drugs in development block the action of other hormones that are known to raise blood sugar levels.

- Since Type 1 disease is caused by destruction of the islet cells in the pancreas by the diabetic's own immune system (it is an "autoimmune" disease), some research has focused on drugs and vaccines that prevent the destruction of the islet cells. Scientific American reported on such a drug that appeared to be successful in a small trial last year (subscription might be required for the link to work).