New MRI Technique Can Detect Diabetes 183
MonkeyBoy writes "Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and Massachusetts General Hospital have unveiled a new magnetic nanoparticle based magnetic resonance imaging technique that can detect diabetes even before clinical symptoms. In mice they were able to take non-invasive images of pancreatic inflammation and its reversal for type 1 diabetes. Full article is available as a PDF from Pubmedcentral. Will we see rapid translation of these pre-clinical observations to prediction and/or stratification of type 1 diabetes and treatment of individuals with the disease? This would provide a crucially needed early predictor of response to therapy. As an added bonus it looks like the analysis was done on a Linux box too."
Open Source Medicine? (Score:5, Interesting)
This is a good thing, now if only the pharmaceutical companies would make alot of their stuff open to the public, maybe we'd all not suffer nearly as badly due to our wallets not being fat enough.
Fullfilling MRI's promise (sort of) (Score:4, Interesting)
This is an interesting application of magneto-immunoassay - using the change in magnetic properties to determine if there has been a reaction.
MRI (Score:5, Interesting)
For something like diabetes that can be diagnosed in other ways, I don't see a normal doctor or health insurance company prescribing an MRI. Health care is one of the areas where capitalism is really the wrong motivation (because our long term health is not their concern - just short term costs).
I guess I'm just cynical, but I see some of these great advances being almost useless to the majority of people because they simply can't afford it or don't even have healthcare.
I keep hoping for things to change though
Re:Open Source Medicine? (Score:3, Interesting)
I disagree and I won't back up my claim with proof, but here's my point any way.
It's not the final product that needs to be more open, it is the research for the hundreds of products that never make it to a final shipping product. With traditional university-style research it is 'publish-or-perish' which, while increasing the noise level, tends to get the useful info out to others who can make better use of it. With corporate-style research it is "publish-and-perish" because the management mind-set is that every little scrap of information is "intellectual property" and so must be horded like real property. Which causes useful information to be shit-canned because the right people never get a chance to see it.
As good little slashbots we all know that the economics governing real property versus intellecutal pseudo-property are vastly different. But Those In Charge haven't figured it out yet, and for the most part, have a vested interest in NOT figuring that out. They don't care about anyone else making money, not even their own employees, just so long as THEY make a ton of bucks.
Re:Dystopia (Score:4, Interesting)
My wife got pregnant and got what apparently is a common problem: diabetes. She controlled it using exercise and diet. Then, after she gave birth the diabetes does what it does when it's pregnancy diabetes: it went away.
Then, about a year later, I changed jobs and decided I wanted to get insurance for her independent of the job, because their insurance was expensive. We answered all the questions on their questionnaire, including the requisite "diabetes" question. We then filled out in the "explanation for 'yes' answers" section a note about how the diabetes was minor and temporary.
They categorically denied to insure her in any way, shape, or form. No "You are qualified for our high-risk" plan or anything, just: "You are uninsurable by us (go to hell)."
So actually we kind of live in the dystopia I described. When I read this story, I wonder to myself "Could this tendency toward diabetes that she got have been detected, and if so, would she have been preemptively cured, or preemptively disallowed from being insured?"
Think about it.
Re:MRI (Score:3, Interesting)
A friend's mother was in England, where capitalism isn't an issue in health care, and had a sudden problem with her heart. The ER doctor told her that when she got home, she should get on the waiting list for a bypass. She just gave him a funny look. When she got home, she talked to her regular MD, and he scheduled her for it within a week. Of course, here in the capitalist Amerika, there isn't any such thing as a waiting list for bypass surgery if you have insurance. You just get it done.
Re:MRI (Score:5, Interesting)
I have heard from several people that have had an MRI that (a) it is almost impossible to get scheduled in any reasonable timeframe for one and (b) they are 'incredibly expensive'.
So is diabetes.
I am a type 1 diabetic and it costs thousands perhaps 10's of thousands per year to manage(if you include side effects, lost opportunities etc). This will be the case for the rest of my life(hopefully 50+ years, although diabetes has a major effect in shortening it).
If it can be prevented by a series of MRI's + drugs or any other treatment for that matter that costs less than say $100k if will be economic for most pre-type 1 patients(ie children) to undertake.
- Robert
Extremely preminary data (Score:4, Interesting)
stusdy. These researchers demonstrated that an
MRI can find evidence of diabetes in mice before
the development of clinical symptoms. How does
this relate to people?
1. Practical: Type I diabetes typically develops in
children, who usually must be sedated and
observed for an MRI. This could double the cost
of the MRI (typically $1-2k in US). Also, we
don't know how long these findings are present
before diabetes develops
this need to be done?
2. The Incidence of type I diabetes is about
0.4% among people without relatives with
type I. First degree relatives have a 5-30%
risk... Certain genes predispose to type I
diabetes.... maybe this could be used in certain
people.
3. Since there is no such early diagnosis, we
don't really know who we might treat this
pre-type I state. Certainly we could make a
few reasonable guesses, but any benefit is
still in doubt until there are human trials.
I think this will definitely be more handy when
tricorders are perfected!
Re:MRIs gone wild (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Dystopia (Score:2, Interesting)
Gestational diabetes is absolutely a risk for later progression to type II diabetes mellitus. Before anyone gets compltely outraged, this is a known fact, and that's why the insurance company flatly refused her.
People want to believe that if they are doing all the right things, such as styaing slim, getting a reasonable amoutn of exercise, not smoking, and eating right, they shouldn't be turned down for insurance. Well, the fact is that the insurance company only wants completely healthy folks. Depending on your state laws, group policies may still have "riders". For instance, this gentleman's wife may have gotten group coverage, but no coverage for diabetes-related illness for one year.
This dystopian (great word, btw) world leads to a lack of health insurance coverage for many small business owners, at least until they can afford to pay for group coverage for their employees (just so they can get insurance for themselves).
More than once, I have wished for a system such as the UK, where health care is available simply for being British. I doubt it would be all fish and chips, but as a doc I see the broad variety of people without insurance, and the havoc it causes them.
False Questions (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes.
I love these questions! They do the same thing on NPR. "Mr. So-and-So, do you think that this Gaza strip pullout will mean that peace negotiations can continue, thereby creating a harmonious world balance where children hold hands and laugh gaily, frolicing through streets lined with happy merchants selling kumquats at a mere 15 cents for a dozen? Yes or no?"
adult stem cells and insulin (Score:3, Interesting)
I can see it going either way.
Mal-2
Re:This creates more questions than it solves (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:MRIs gone wild (Score:3, Interesting)
Speaking of MRIs gone wild, so many women who come in for (research) scans make some joke about how the magnet might be so strong it'll rip their bras off.
Re:MRIs gone wild (Score:1, Interesting)
Perhaps I'm missing something, seems Foobar'ed (Score:4, Interesting)
- Most diabetics are "type 2", which usually dont have anything to do with pancreatic inflamation.
- Even for "type 1's" or peole at risk of type 1, what are they supposed to do, get a MRI every day, at $800 per scan?
- Even so, even if an inflammation is found, what can be done? Be on immuno-surpressors for a long long time?
This sounds like a technique more usueful for ivory-tower research on the progression of inflamation, not terribly useful to the end sufferer.I'm glad it runs Linux... (Score:2, Interesting)
Another added benefit will be its superior security. I'd hate all those MRI machines connected straight to the internet to be vulnerable to hacking. Someone could take control and give a patient a superdose and inadvertantly give them superpowers!