Diabetes might be casused by a virus

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New virus link to diabetes raises hopes of vaccineBy Celia Hall, Medical Editor(Filed: 24/05/2002)British scientists have found strong evidence that childhood diabetes mightbe caused by a common virus, raising hopes that a vaccine could be developedto prevent the illness.The results of a new study published today, show that the bodies of recentlydiagnosed diabetics respond differently to Coxsackie B4 (CVB4) virus thanthe bodies of healthy people.The differences were most pronounced in the blood of teenagers and youngadults in the study who had most recently been diagnosed with Type 1diabetes, according to the study in the American journal Diabetes. "Theimplications are clear," said Dr Mark Peakman, immunologist at Guy's, King'sand St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, who led the three-year study."If viruses have a proven role in the disease there is the futurepossibility of developing vaccines to prevent infection and therefore Type 1diabetes," he said.Cases of diabetes are rising. National Statistics predicted a 31 per centincrease of 1.51 million by 2023.Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body lacks insulinthat controls blood sugar levels. Patients have to inject insulin.Its causes are not properly understood but scientists believe there is aninteraction between a person's genes and something they encounter in theenvironment. Several genes have been linked to diabetes. A viral trigger hasbeen suggested already but this is the first evidence to implicate aspecific virus.Several years ago CVB4 was recovered from the pancreas of a child who diedfrom Type 1 diabetes. Using DNA technology the virus was tested in the bloodof 40 young diabetics, who had been diagnosed not more than five monthspreviously, and a health control group.Scientists had already discovered a number of genes that are associated withdiabetes. It now seems likely that CVB4 can trigger diabetes in suspectiblepeople, possibly by stimulating the immune system to kill off the cells thatproduce insulin.The team, funded by the charity Action Research, found that CVB4 readilyactivated the immune system of people with diabetes and found new evidencethat they responded differently to the healthy people.Dr Peakman said: "A virus is like an enemy invasion that the body fightswith an infantry of anti-viral cells called effector cells. At the same timethe body keeps a store of reserve troops of memory cells that can quicklyturn into effector cells the next time the virus is encountered."He added: "Our research found there were significantly more effector cellsamong the diabetics."If the virus had nothing to do with the disease you would expect to findthe same distribution of effector cells. But there were far more of these inthe diabetics suggesting they had a close and recent encounter with CVB4."