This week Spanish researchers have banished type 1 diabetes in beagles, which was induced by chemically destroying pancreas cells that produce insulin.
According to The Scientist, an online news source, researchers induced diabetes in beagles between 6 months and 1 year old. They then injected the dog’s skeletal muscles with viruses carrying genes for insulin and glucokinase, an enzyme involved in processing glucose.
Following the treatment, the researcher confirmed that the genes had been incorporated into the DNA of the dogs, which were able to regulate their own blood sugar levels without medical help. And when the dogs exercised, they no longer had episodes of hypoglycemia.
The researchers hope to try out the treatment in humans. But sources warned New Scientist that the treatment might not work the same way in humans that it did in canines because the beagles diabetes was induced by chemical.
In Humans naturally occurring type 1 diabetes is when the immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells.
Once again a study that was done on animal’s only proves it is meaningless, and still needs to be tested on human’s before a human cure can be found.
In 2010, approximately 65,000 beagles were used in biomedical research
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