AN ARTHRITIS pill can help keep type 1 diabetes at bay, a study reveals.
Baricitinib was found to slow down the autoimmune disease’s progression by protecting insulin-making cells.
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The discovery is being described as a world first which could mean sufferers have to inject themselves with insulin less often.
Rachel Connor, from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, said: “This evidence suggests we’re on the threshold of a new frontier in medicine.”
At present, there is no way to slow or stop type 1 diabetes, which affects 400,000 people in the UK.
Baricitinib is used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and alopecia.
But a trial involving 91 diabetes patients in Australia showed it also stopped the immune system attacking cells which make insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar.
After a year, those who took baricitinib produced 50 per cent more insulin than those in a placebo group.
As a result they needed fewer doses of insulin to manage their condition.
Researcher Professor Thomas Kay “We showed baricitinib is safe and effective.”