A new study has shown that taking selenium supplements elevates the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Around twelve hundred participants were involved in the study. Some took 200 micrograms of selenium daily, while others got a placebo. After nearly eight years had gone by, the researchers found that those taking the selenium were at an increased risk of nearly fifty percent for Type 2 diabetes.The finding raises the question: does supplementation of the diet with bottled vitamin pills or fortified food products do as much, or possibly even more, harm than good? The Washington Post contains quotes from both Larry Deeb of the American Diabetes Association and Eliseo Guallar of Johns Hopkins University expressing concern at Americans' propensity for vitamin pill-popping.

Oddly, the reason that selenium supplementation was undergoing examination in the first place was because medical experts believed it might in fact be beneficial in diabetes prevention. The theory was that the antioxidant properties in selenium which aid metabolism could aid in blood sugar control for people at risk for Type 2 diabetes. These antioxidant properties have been found to be beneficial in the treatment of other conditions ranging from cold sores to arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Some also believe selenium can slow the aging process and even aid in cancer prevention. Given this history as a health-boosting wonder-substance, the result of this particular study came as a surprise.

The findings have just been published in the online edition of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. You can also read more in the Washington Post's website or visit Reuters online. The pic at right shows selenium in its nuggety form, as you might find it in a high school chemistry lab or similar.

Just like a referee to normalize play throughout the game - DiaKine Therapeutics is developing ways to normalize the body's immune system.

The new drugs modulate cytokines, part of the body's immune system, which mistakenly attack normal organs and tissue and cause diseases such as: diabetes, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Research by Dr. Nadler and his collaborators published in 2006 showed that controlling certain cytokines can arrest the progression of, or reverse, type 1 diabetes in an animal model.

The company's first product, IsletLifeLSF Media 1 is designed to improve the viability and insulin producing capabilities of harvested islet cells prior to transplant. This would potentially improve the success rate of the procedure. Additional therapeutics under development by DiaKine include: adjunct therapy to islet cell transplants, halting the progression of type 1 diabetes in newly diagnosed adults, treatment and prevention of Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults (LADA), treatment and prevention of insulin requiring type 2 diabetic, treatment and prevention of diabetes complications.

It all sounds like good stuff in the works. Keep an eye on the progress and press releases of DiaKine, as well as their research partner - the Diabetes Research Institute. A lot is happening these days. What else have you seen or heard about in the autoimmune arena?

Allie Beatty (pictured) is a young woman with a mission. Combining her entrepreneurial spirit with a strong desire to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes, the New York state resident founded the website Shop4Cures. The notion is delightfully simple: stores advertise on the site and provide coupons, discounts and product info. Shop4Cures then donates eighty percent of its advertising revenues to a range of nonprofit organizations that help fund research to cure diseases. In addition to helping fund diabetes research, profits from Shop4Cures will also go to organizations battling diseases such as cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

A Type 1 diabetic herself for over twenty years now, Beatty says she was inspired to start the site after hearing about a potential cure for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases that is currently under research. The problem was a lack of funding ($1.5 million, to be precise). That's when the Shop4Cures concept was born. Worth a look!

Today's Scary Statistic: a Denmark study indicates that Type 1 diabetics are more than - get ready - three (!) times more likely than non-diabetics to develop multiple sclerosis.

According to the researchers, there are indications that MS and Type 1 diabetes may be somehow linked within what one might call 'disease families.' Why? Because Type 1 diabetes and MS are both autoimmune diseases, which cause the body to attack its own tissues. In the case of Type 1 diabetes, the body reacts against insulin-producing cells, whereas in the case of MS it attacks the myelin shealth that surrounds neurons in the brain.

Previous studies have indicated a link between Type 1 diabetes and MS, however, this is the first large-scale study to investigate the connection.

See the following Reuters report to learn more. The full results of the study have been published in the latest Archives of Neurology (July 2006).