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Immunotherapy Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Distinct Stages of Type 1 Diabetes: An Overview

Authors :
Novella Rapini
Riccardo Schiaffini
Alessandra Fierabracci
Source :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 21, Iss 6, p 2103 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2020.

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by destruction of pancreatic β cells, culminating in absolute insulin deficiency. The goals of Type 1 diabetes care, established by the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), are to achieve good glycemic control, to prevent hyperglycaemia (which is associated with long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications) and to avoid recurrent episodes of hypoglycaemia (which may have adverse effects on cognitive function). However, despite continuing optimization of insulin therapy regimes, the actual hormonal substitutive administration acts only to treat the symptoms without an effect on disease pathology and etiopathogenesis. In recent decades, a great deal of interest has been focused on prevention approaches in high-risk individuals, based on the hypothesis that a therapeutic intervention, if applied at the early stage of disease, might contribute to maintaining endogenous β cell function by preserving the residual β cell reservoir from autoimmune attack. This manuscript provides an overview of the most important immunotherapeutic interventions established so far for Type 1 diabetes treatment at different stages of disease that have reached an advanced stage of assessment.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14220067
Volume :
21
Issue :
6
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.6022a4a3213e41d4a7226cc549ed79d6
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21062103