Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Type 2 research in the news

This morning, I was informed of a study which actually links Type 2 to an autoimmune reaction. THIS... IS... HUGE!!! I pray that this study will help people realize that Type 2 diabetes isn't something that a person does to him/herself.  Type 2s don't have diabetes due to poor nutrition and obesity.  So many people are uneducated and misinformed about the causes of Type 2, even within the diabetes community.

If you have followed my blog at all, you know that I am very vocal about being the atypical Type 2.  I am at a healthy weight (though I admit I'd like to lose about 5-10 lbs) and I'm considered "young" in the Type 2 community (diagnosed two weeks shy of 38).  It hurts me every single time I see someone shout out that Type 2s are a bunch of old, lazy, couch-potato, over-eaters.  I've actually broken down in tears several times out of frustration.

Many times I've said to myself (and whomever will listen, typically my awesome hubby), "Just like Type 1, a person who has Type 2 wound up that way due to some type of trigger.  With a Type 1, that trigger causes their body to no longer produce insulin.  For a person with Type 2, that trigger causes insulin resistance.  The trigger can be an illness or another type of stress on the body.  For me, it was probably the stress (albeit a normal, healthy type of stress) of pregnancy.  And yes, for some that stress on the system is weight."  If weight was the cause of diabetes, then all the obese people in this world would have Type 2 and healthy weight people would not.

Below are links to two articles about the study, with some of my favorite quotes:

Autoimmune reaction and type 2 diabetes linked in breakthrough study
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto have showed that type 2 diabetes could derive from an autoimmune reaction from within the body. It is hoped the breakthrough will lead to new therapies for treating the condition.
and
Daniel Winer, senior author on the study, commented "We are in the process of redefining one of the most common diseases in America as an autoimmune disease, rather than a purely metabolic disease."

He added "This work will change the way people think about obesity, and will likely impact medicine for years to come as physicians begin to switch their focus to immune-modulating treatments for type 2 diabetes."

Do Immune System Ills Help Drive Type 2 Diabetes?

New research suggests that the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes may be linked to an immune system reaction gone awry.
 and
"People with type 2 diabetes are often blamed for bringing the disease on, but it's a combination of genetic and physiological factors exposed to a certain environment. And, this study points out what may be another important biologic factor," he added.

Amen!

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