A US University searching for diabetes cure needs participants

The UT Southwestern Medical Center, which has been looking into whether suppressing glucagon could be a possible diabetes treatment, is lacking volunteers to carry out related trials. The research recently made headlines as the findings gave some hope for a future cure for type 1 diabetes .
The Dallas Morning News reports that Dr Roger Unger would like more participants to take part in a study into how the hormone leptin can help blood sugar control in humans with type 1 diabetes . Currently the study has only three participants, with Dr Unger admitting, “We could use more volunteers.”
A previous study into the effect of leptin on diabetic mice showed promise. The research into leptin on mice helped the researchers to discover benefits of glucagon suppressio, so any advance in understanding of how the hormones behave in humans with type 1 diabetes could also present a significant step forward. However, research studies on humans are much less easy to arrange and the lack of volunteers is one of those reasons.
If the research into leptin in humans is successful, it could open the door to similar future research studies. Dr Unger is generally positive about the hope of finding an alternative treatment to conventional insulin therapy. However, the researchers are keen to point out that hopes for a treatment are still at an early stage: “Hopefully, these findings will someday help those with type 1 diabetes.”