Research and Therapy Developments 
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insulin, produced by the beta cells in the islets of the pancreas, 
facilitates the entrance of glucose from the bloodstream into 
the cells, where it is then metabolized. Insulin is critical for 
regulating the body's use of glucose and the glucose concen- 
tration in the circulating blood. 
The body’s failure to produce sufficient amounts of insulin 
results in diabetes, an extremely common metabolic disease 
affecting over 10 million Americans, often with widespread 
and devastating consequences. In some five to ten percent of 
cases, known as 'Type-1 diabetes (or “juvenile diabetes”), the 
disease is caused by “autoimmimity," a process in which the 
body’s immune system attacks “self.” * T-lymphocytes attack 
the patient’s ov\m insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. 
Eventually, this results in destruction of ninety percent or so of 
the beta cells, resulting in the diabetic state. 
With a deficiency or absence of insulin the blood glucose 
becomes elevated and may lead to diabetic coma, a fatal con- 
dition if untreated. Chronic diabetes, both Type-1 and the 
much more common 'Type-2 diabetes (which is not autoim- 
mune, but largely genetic), causes late complications in the 
retina, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. It is the leading 
cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in the U.S. 
and a major cause of strokes and heart attacks. 
’Type-l diabetes is a devastating, lifelong condition that 
currently affects an estimated 550,000-1,100,000 Americans,"^^ 
including many children. It imposes a significant burden on 
the U.S. healthcare system and the economy as a whole, over 
and above the disabilities and impairments borne by individ- 
ual sufferers. Recent estimates suggest that treatment of all 
forms of diabetes costs Americans a total of $132 billion per 
year.'^ At 5-10 percent of all diabetes cases, the costs of Type-1 
diabetes can be estimated as $6.5-13 billion per year. 
Normally the immune system protects against infectious and toxic agents 
and surveys for cancer cells v\hth the intent of destroying them, but does not 
attack one's own tissues. There are many other autoimmune diseases such 
as multiple sclerosis and lupus erythematosis. 
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