Dr. Tom Serwold wants to know: how can we to reset the immune system to prevent destructive autoimmune T cells from being introduced into the system. He’s doing that by mounting a targeted attack against the immune cells that are primed to destroy beta cells, and then replacing them with healthy cells.
Type 1 diabetes is a disease of a broken immune system. Cells meant to protect against infection turn on the body, attacking and destroying insulin-secreting beta cells instead. The only way to clear the disease from the body is to reset the immune system by getting rid of the dysfunctional cells and replacing them with working ones.
One method of immune system reset tested in previous clinical trials involves using chemicals to wipe away the existing immune system, a process similar to chemotherapy. This has delayed the onset of type 1 diabetes for a short duration, but the disease always returns. The toxicity and bodily harm associated with this chemical treatment far outweigh the reprieve.
Dr. Serwold is developing a safer, non-toxic method of reset. He is able to target individual problem cells of the immune system, destroy them, and replace them with healthy ones. He can also zero in on the blood cells that give rise to the dysfunctional immune cells, which prevents them from reemerging. Since this method does not erase the immune system in its entirety, people undergoing treatment avoid the terrible side effects of other immune-depleting approaches.
Page last updated: May 21, 2019