The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Tzield injection, which delays the onset of type 1 diabetes in people ages 8 and up, currently dealing with stage 2 type 1 diabetes.
Though it can show up at any age, type 1 diabetes typically manifests in children and diagnosed. In type 1 diabetes, the disease causes the immune system to activate against the cells that create insulin. This results in the person diagnosed to have higher levels of glucose, and they must check their blood sugar levels multiple times a day. Those afflicted must take insulin shots or, in more severe cases, use an insulin pump to survive.
Tzield binds to specific cells in the immune system, damping the progression into stage 3 diabetes. The new drug may deactivate immune cells that attack the insulin producers, while increasing the cell proportion that helps moderate immune response. Tzeild is an intravenous drug that is infused daily for a 14 consecutive day period.
Over a 51 month period of a random sample, double blind, placebo controlled testing of 76 patients in stage 2 of type 1 diabetes, 20 of the 44 patients were later diagnosed with stage 3 diabetes, while 23 of the 32 patients receiving the placebo were diagnosed as such.
