CHICAGO — Thousands of Americans with Type I diabetes might no longer need insulin shots or pumps with a new treatment that could mean a life change for some patients.
"There could be 2,000 to 3,000 people, in the U.S. alone, who are taking insulin who may not need to take insulin -- and that is huge," said University of Chicago endocrinologist Dr. Lou Philipson.
That small percentage of people actually have what is called monogenic diabetes, a form of diabetes in which patients have a mutation that keeps the pancreas from producing insulin.
Research shows a class of drugs called sulfonylureas can help them produce insulin on their own. Patients take the treatment, which comes in pill form, twice a day.
The treatment is not for patients with Type II diabetes.
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