A drug for rheumatoid arthritis may suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes in newly diagnosed patients, scientists say.
In a world-first clinical trial, researchers in Australia found that baricitinib can maintain the body's own insulin production.
As a result, the anti-inflammatory drug, also known by the brand name Olumiant, reduces the amount of insulin patients need to inject to control their blood sugar levels.
The team said their findings represent a 'huge step change' in the way the condition is managed and treated and could improve 'the ability to control type 1 diabetes'.
Professor Helen Thomas, head of immunology at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne and author of the study, said: 'We are very optimistic that this treatment will become clinically available.'
The drug, made by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, is thought to work by dampening the immune response against insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and kills the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Therefore, patients must inject insulin to control their blood sugar levels
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and kills the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.
Therefore, patients must inject insulin to control their blood sugar levels.
Around 430,000 Britons and 2 million Americans have type 1 diabetes – around eight per cent of diabetic patients. Nine out of ten patients have type 2.
The researchers said there are “a significant number” of insulin-producing cells still present in the body when type 1 diabetes is first diagnosed.
Professor Thomas Kay, director of the St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, who led the trial, said: 'We wanted to see if we could prevent further destruction of these cells by the immune system.'
His team recruited 91 people, between the ages of 10 and 30, to participate.
The study was double-blind and randomized, meaning that neither the researchers nor the volunteers knew who was taking baricitinib (60 people) and who was receiving a placebo (31 people).
All enrolled patients had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within the past 100 days and continued on prescribed insulin therapy for the entire duration of the study.
The researchers monitored their total daily insulin dose, the amount of insulin produced in the body and their blood sugar levels.
The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that those in the baricitinib group were able to safely and effectively maintain their body's own insulin production and suppress the progression of type 1 diabetes.
The drug, made by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, is thought to work by dampening the immune response against insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes.
Although insulin can save lives, researchers say the therapy itself is potentially dangerous if too much or too little is administered.
Professor Kay said: 'It is hugely exciting for us to be the first group anywhere in the world to test the efficacy of baricitinib as a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes.
'Until now, people with type 1 diabetes were dependent on insulin administered via an injection or infusion pump.
'Our trial showed that if started early enough after diagnosis and as long as participants continued to take the medication, their insulin production was maintained.
'People with type 1 diabetes in the trial who received the drug required significantly less insulin for treatment.'
Commenting on the research, Dr Faye Riley, research communications manager at Diabetes UK, said: 'It is incredibly exciting to see more positive results from clinical trials of immunotherapies to stop type 1 diabetes.
'For more than 100 years, people with type 1 diabetes have relied solely on insulin, but these findings show that by tackling the cause of type 1 diabetes – an immune system attack – an existing drug can help the pancreas to protect. diagnosed with type 1, so they can continue to produce more insulin for longer.
'This can give people with type 1 diabetes much more stable blood sugar levels and help protect against serious diabetes complications later.
'Immunotherapies are propelling us into a new era in the treatment of type 1 diabetes and could help us overcome a major hurdle on the path to finding a cure for the condition.
'This process brings us one step closer.'