Overview

Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is sometimes called juvenile onset diabetes because the new onset peaks at about age 12. The onset is rapid and is generally thought to be due to an autoimmune process triggered by some unidentified infection. The autoimmune process destroys the pancreatic tissue that produces insulin, thereby requiring lifelong insulin supplementation.

A related type of diabetes is sometimes called Type 1.5, LADA, or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults.

Please see conventional, complimentary and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Treatment

Conventional Treatment of Type I Diabetes

Insulin replacement is the primary treatment for Type I Diabetes Mellitus, along with proper diet and exercise. Poor glucose control is generally blamed for secondary causes of morbidity and death such as atherosclerosis. See [Joslin], [Kelly2001].

Experimental treatments with stem cells are being tried, but are not expected to be helpful unless the autoimmune reaction can be eliminated.

A monoclonal antibody called Go to teplizumab/Tzieldteplizumab/Tzield (Anti-CD3) has shown that "clinical type 1 diabetes (T1DM) can be delayed for a median of two years in children and adults at high risk."

Medicare also provides a number of Go to diabetic services.diabetic services.

Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative Treatments

Optimize Thyroid Function

Hypothyroidism has been associated with diabetes (type I and II) and it has been observed that diabetic patients concurrently treated for hypothyroidism are spared most of the secondary causes of morbidity and death [Starr2005, pg 42].

Immune System Balancing

[McCulley2018, pp 28, 33, 35, 60, 89, 363-386] reports that Type I and Type 1.5 diabetes mellitus are TH1- and TH17-dominant [T1DM], localized, autoimmune disorders, and proposes an approach to treating these diseases, which should be supervised by a properly trained medical professional. Dr. Weyrich has considerable interest in this topic, but has not treated any cases of T1DM or LADA with Immune System Balancing.

Please see What is Immune System Balancing? for more information.

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

According to the Low Dose Naltrexone home page [LDN], LDN has been seen to benefit many different autoimmune diseases. Dr. Weyrich is aware of one anecdotal report of treating Diabetes Mellitus Type I using LDN. In this case, better blood glucose control was obtained, and insulin dose was reduced but not eliminated.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of Diabetes Mellitus Type I with LDN.

Please see What is Low Dose Naltrexone? for more information.

Neurotransmitter Balancing

Neuro Research [Hinz2015] reports that chronic diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus Type I can be benefited by balancing neurotransmitter levels in the body.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in neurotransmitter balancing protocols, but has not treated Diabetes Mellitus Type I using this technique.

Please see What is Neurotransmitter Balancing? for more information.

Prevention

There is evidence that hypothyroid function suppresses the immune system and increases susceptibility to whatever bacterial or viral infection might trigger the autoimmune response [Starr2005].

Hypotheses

Type I Diabetes is typically diagnosed when about 90% of insulin-secreting pancreatic tissue has been destroyed. It is theoretically possible that if the autoimmune process can be arrested soon enough, some pancreatic function can be maintained and even some reversal can be achieved. There are no FDA-approved protocols to do this.

Adult Stem-cells

Adult stem-cell research also holds some promise for restoring pancreatic function. Adult stem-cells are collected from the patient's own tissues and do not have problems with tissue incompatibility (MHC-mismatch) that stem cell lines from other people (such as fetal stem cells) would have. However, introducing new insulin-secreting cells still faces the problem that the autoimmune process must be arrested in order to prevent destruction of the new insulin-secreting cells as well.

References