Dr. Taylor-Fishwick and his team will test several experimental drugs developed by Jerry Nadler, MD, chair of internal medicine and director of the EVMS Strelitz Diabetes Center. The compounds are designed to modify the autoimmune response and stabilize beta cells. The goal is to develop these compounds into an oral pill.

"The Department of Defense, through its Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, is especially interested in research to combat autoimmunity," Dr. Taylor-Fishwick says. "So part of our work is to block the process of autoimmunity that occurs in diabetes. We are using a drug called Lisofylline (LSF) and related molecules to block interleukin-12, a protein that triggers the autoimmune response," he explains. "By targeting interleukin-12 signaling, we hope to redirect the immune system, but not wipe it out."

The researchers hope that one of these compounds, when used in conjunction with Exsulin-, may help to create a combination therapy regimen that could achieve a functional cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Source: Eastern Virginia Medical School