Sound Medicine for March 30, 2002

Sound Medicine -- March 30, 2002

Barbara Lewis and Dr. Pescovitz talk to IU physicians about diabetes type I in children:: NIH research and autoimmune therapies
Transplant treatments; Managing care for diabetic children; Show resources

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In Greek, "diabetes" means "to siphon" referring to the excessive urination and weight loss associated with type I diabetics. An ancient Egyptian papyrus describes the disease as a person "melting into the loins" and his urine attracting ants on account of its "sweetness." Diabetes may have been with us through the ages, but researchers are confident about the future.

Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which an individual's immune system attacks his own pancreas, specifically the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells. Discovering how to stop the immune system attack may be part of the cure for type I.

NIH research and autoimmune therapies

To find out more, we meet with the principal investigators at the Indiana University School of Medicine participating in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study looking at the most promising new therapies to treat and delay onset of type I diabetes in children.

Principal investigator at for the study at the IUSM is Dr. Henry Rodriguez, assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology at Riley Hospital for Children. Dr. Rodriguez describes the multifaceted, international research applying autoimmune treatments to diabetics and prediabetics, including the balancing the benefits of powerful immunosuppressant drugs and their harmful side effects. Dr. Rodriguez believes a cure for type I diabetes may occur within his young patients' lifetime.

Transplant treatments for diabetics

Another researcher participating in the study is Dr. Mark Pescovitz, a transplant surgeon and an expert in immunosuppressant therapies.

He explains how doctors can predict if patients predisposed to diabetes will get the disease. He talks about using immunosuppressant drugs, their evolution, and how they work for treating diabetics as well as for transplant patients. He also describes just how a pancreas or eyelet cell transplant can help a diabetic patient.

Managing care for diabetic children

Also particicipating in the NIH study is Tina Pottoroff, a pediatric nurse practioner/educator at the IU School of Medicine specializing in treating children with diabetes. She talks about one of the biggest difficulties in treating diabetes type I: getting kids and teens to co-operate in their treatment.

Pottoroff explains working with families undergoing big lifestyle changes and how flexible modern treatments allow diabetic kids to lead nearly normal lives. She talks about new developments in lancets, blood sugar meters, and insulin pumps. She and Dr. Pescovitz also talk about channeling teen rebellion away from unhealthy manipulation of their diabetic condition.

Diabetes resources: The American Diabetes Association; The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation sponsors the fun JDRF "Kids Online" Web site
Children with Diabetes, an online community for kids and families
Camp John Worvel for diabetic children
The Riley Hospital Web Site
Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine

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Health Quiz —
Which of the two is harder on a person's health,
Smoking or obesity?

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Medical Mystery —
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Weekly Notebook — Medical text books for Afghanistan

IU School of Medicine students are bridging battlefields and cultures to restock libraries and assist medical students in Afghanistan. The students are collecting basic science texts, reference books and educational posters from their fellow students, IU medical faculty and staff, and other local sources. The material, along with related donations and contributions, will be distributed to pre-med and medical students at Faizabad University and Albiruni University in northeastern Afghanistan. The latter institution was destroyed by the now-deposed Taliban regime.

For more info, read the full story from the IUSM Office of Public & Media Relations