Is A Cure Coming?

[Canadian Karen]

This sounds really interesting. This company just got a huge grant to continue studying a cure for celiac. Sounds like they think they are on the right track....

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Alba Therapeutics reports breakthrough diabetes results

Scientists at Alba Therapeutics Corporation and the University of Maryland School of Medicine have reported successful results from a study evaluating a zonulin agonist in type 1 diabetes.

Scientists at Alba Therapeutics Corporation and the University of Maryland School of Medicine have reported successful results from a study evaluating a zonulin agonist in type 1 diabetes.

The researchers reported a direct link between zonulin-mediated increased intestinal permeability and type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the BB/wor rat model of diabetes. The investigators were also able to successfully prevent the onset of the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells and the onset of T1D in these animals by using the specific zonulin blocker AT-1001.

Daily oral administration of the drug, beginning before the onset of auto-immunity in the diabetic prone rats, cut the incidence of the disease by two-thirds, and completely blocked the development of autoimmune antibodies in the treatment responders.

These results constitute the first successful result in preventing the autoimmune process characteristic of T1D by blocking the zonulin-mediated abnormal intestinal permeability.

"These results go well beyond the development of a prevention strategy for T1D," said Dr Alessio Fasano, professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at The University of Maryland School of Medicine. "They open a new field of investigation in which the interplay between host and environment at the mucosal level may help us understanding the molecular basis of many diseases."

"These results reinforce our conviction that the zonulin pathway provides a roadmap for the discovery and development of innovative products to treat many important diseases, including diabetes, in ways previously thought to be inconceivable" stated Dr Blake Paterson, CEO of Alba (LSE: ABA.L - news) .

Alba Therapeutics is a Baltimore-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2004 and dedicated to commercializing disease-modifying therapeutics and drug delivery adjuvants based on the zonulin pathway. Alba's lead molecule, AT-1001, is targeted towards the treatment of celiac disease and type 1 diabetes and is in the final stages of pre-human testing.

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Let's keep our fingers crossed........

Karen

[Carriefaith]

That's great news Karen!

final stages of pre-human testing.

This means that in a few years (hopefully if the funding is good for these guys) we will know if there is a cure or a treatment plan for celiac!

[celiac3270]

On an NPR radio thing a few months ago, Dr. Green said that he expected a treatment for celiac within the next ten years--not actually a cure, but, for example, a pill so that if you accidentally ingest gluten, it won't do as much damage--that sort of thing.

But if we got that sooner....or by 2015 had something even better than treatment for accidents....wow. I tend to be skeptical about this sort of thing because I don't want to get my hopes up, but wouldn't that be cool?

[flagbabyds]

Actually at Stanford they are testing enzymes and and developing a pill that you can take, so it won't be a cure, but it will help us eat gluten more reguralraly

[MySuicidalTurtle]

"Daily oral administration of the drug, beginning before the onset of auto-immunity in the diabetic prone rats, cut the incidence of the disease by two-thirds, and completely blocked the development of autoimmune antibodies in the treatment responders.""

So, since it is targeted agains diabetes and celiacs it would be preventing rather than curing.

This article makes me think it would be intended for children of people with Celiacs to prevent them from developing it, no?

I have heard what celiac3270 talked about as well as certain other things dpeending on which genes you have.