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Key discoveries significant to
the improved
treatment of diabetes
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| 2001 |
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First conclusive demonstration that a low fat diet and moderate exercise reduce likelihood of becoming diabetic by 50%; treatment with metformin reduces likelihood by one third. |
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| 2001 |
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Discovery and isolation of pluripotential stem cells within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans which can be grown in culture and differentiated into insulin-producing cells. |
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| 2000 |
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First use of a functional strategy to identify a protein that regulates GLUT4 glucose transporter activity. |
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| 2000 |
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Development of a transgenic mouse model of age-dependent diabetes mellitus as a result of pancreatic b-cell IDX-1-deficiency. |
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| 1999 |
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Discovered the Bridge-1 gene and demonstrated that it activates insulin gene expression. |
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| 1999 |
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Performed first comprehensive evaluation of genetic variations putatively associated to type 2 diabetes, and demonstrated an association to a genetic variant of the target of the anti-diabetic thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs, PPAR-gamma. |
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| 1999 |
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First evidence that the secretion of hormones (e.g. ACRP30) from fat is specifically regulated by insulin. |
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| 1998 |
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Characterization of the specific components of the insulin resistance syndrome, and its relationship with glycemia |
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| 1997 |
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Discovery that GLP-1 stimulates the expression of the IDX-1 transcription factor and promotes the formation of new beta-cells in the pancreas from stem cells. |
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| 1993 |
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Discovery of a gene, IDX-1, that proves to be a master regulator of pancreas development and a key controller of insulin gene expression. |
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| 1993 |
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First definitive proof of the benefits of intensive therapy to prevent complications in Type 1 diabetes, such as heart disease. |
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| 1992 |
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First human proof that the administration of GLP-1 to type 2 diabetic subjects stimulates endogenous insulin secretion and effectively lowers blood glucose levels. |
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| 1986 |
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First demonstration of the relationship of hyperglycemia and risk for retinopathy (eye damage) in Type 2 diabetes. |
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| 1985 |
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First use of implantable pumps to treat diabetes. |
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| 1985 |
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Discovered a novel hormone, glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and demonstrated that it stimulates insulin secretion and enhances the transcriptional
expression of the insulin gene. |
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| 1984 |
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First demonstration of the clinical utility of HbA1c (glucose modified hemoglobin) assay, which estimates average blood sugar levels over the past few weeks. |
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| 1981 |
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First successful transplantation of islets without immunosuppression. |
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| 1980 |
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First successful isolation of pancreatic Islets of Langerhans from mice. Top |
Key steps leading to the first successful treatment to reverse established autoimmune diabetes:
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| 2001 |
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First treatment to reverse established autoimmune (Type 1) diabetes, using TNF-alpha and MHC class I and self peptide. This demonstated for the first time that disease removal was sufficient to allow spontaneous islet regeneration in the mouse. |
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| 2000 |
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First demonstrated that TNF-alpha will induce cell suicide in autoimmune prone cells. |
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| 1999 |
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First demonstration that the LMP2 protein defect plays a role in altering T cell death and allowing immune escape. |
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| 1997 |
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First recognition that a mutation in the autoimmune prone NOD mouse reduces expression of both Tap1 and Lmp2, causing poor immune system education for self tolerance. |
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| 1991 |
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First identification of LMP/TAP gene malfunction in autoimmune prone animals. This malfunction in murine autoimmunity was leading to interrupted MHC class I presentation for self tolerance and interrupted NfkB signalling. |
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| 1991 |
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First identification of MHC class I as a structure of T cell tolerance to self and the disruption of this pathway in autoimmunity. |
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| 1991 |
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First introduction of a novel technique to prevent rejection of transplanted cells. The method of donor protein modification was expanded within industry into world-wide clinical trials. |
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| 1989 |
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First identification of an over abundance of naive T cells in the peripheral blood of diabetic patients. This is now recognized as a defect in T regulatory cells. |
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| 1980 |
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First demonstration of MHC class I antigens on tissue cells such as the insulin secreting cells of the pancreas. Top |
