TYPE 1 DIABETES VACCINE TO BEGIN HUMAN TRIAL IN 2018

 A vaccine capable of preventing type 1 diabetes in children developed by researchers in Finland will start clinical trials in 2018. Although it is not a cure to diabetes, it could potentially provide immunity against a virus found to trigger the body's defences into attacking itself.
 Type 1 diabetes - which should not be confused with the more prevalent type 2 form that more commonly affects individuals later in life - is the decreased ability to produce insulin utilized by the body's cells to absorb glucose from the blood.
 This loss of insulin is the result of pancreatic tissue called beta cells being destroyed by the body's own immune system, often early in a person's life. Through the work of researchers at the University of Tampere, solid evidence has been found linking a type of virus called coxsackievirus B1 with this autoimmune reaction.
 "Already now it is known that the vaccine is effective and safe on mice," said virologist Heikki Hyöty from the University of Tampere. "The developing process has now taken a significant leap forward as the next phase is to study the vaccine in humans."
 "Additionally, the vaccine would protect from infections caused by enteroviruses such as the common cold, myocarditis, meningitis and ear infections."
Read more about this fascinating story at: http://www.sciencealert.com/this-vaccine-could-prevent-many-cases-of-type-1-diabetes