We have been following the story of Daniel Darkes since 2017. A cause célèbre in diabetes circles, Daniel, known as “Miracle Dan”, reportedly has a “rare gene” which has enabled him to come off insulin for over 17 months. Daniel, 31, also claims that if by the two-year mark he remains off insulin then his doctors will classify him as being cured from type 1 diabetes.
The C-word is controversial within type 1 diabetes. There is no known cure for type 1 diabetes, and Daniel’s insulin cessation is extraordinary. So we sat down with Daniel to talk more about it.
Daniel opened up about his diagnosis and prior insulin use, as well as his intensive exercise regimen and what foods he eats now. The video can be seen below.
Off camera, we asked Daniel for information about which hospitals he has visited and which consultants he has seen. This is because, as yet, Daniel’s so-called rare gene is unverified.
Daniel said he travelled to the US for tests in 2017 and met with Dr Michael Anthony Berk at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. To obtain permission to speak with Dr Berk, we were instructed that Daniel should fill in a media authorization consent form. Daniel subsequently informed us he completed this. We are currently awaiting correspondence from Dr Berk and hope to be able to provide further information in due course.
Daniel said his main consultant in the UK at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) was Dr Charles Fox, an esteemed consultant physician. We contacted Dr Fox, who is now retired, and he said that could not provide any additional details on Daniel’s case. I followed up with Daniel who responded that his most recent communication at NGH was with Dr Jonathan Rippi, a consultant physician. Dr Rippen reportedly told Daniel that a more revealing insight into his test results and rare gene would be shared in September. I haven’t been successful in connecting with Dr Rippe, but plan to contact Daniel in September to ascertain what is revealed to him.
While we await official confirmation from Daniel’s doctors, there remain questions about how Daniel has achieved his success. One particular enquiry is whether Daniel may have been misdiagnosed. However, in our interview Daniel confirmed that his initial diagnostic tests revealed high levels of autoantibodies, which strongly suggests he has an autoimmune disease, either type 1 diabetes or LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood).
There is no guarantee that Daniel won’t one day have to go back onto insulin, but being able to go nearly 18 months without insulin is fascinating and exciting.
We will be in regular contact with Daniel to learn more about his test results and gene analysis during the next few months.
