A tuberculosis vaccine that has been around for a century is being investigated as a potential low-cost, long-term treatment for type 1 diabetes.
Researchers published a small study of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine’s effects in June in the journal Nature Partner Journal Vaccines. They found three patients who were injected with two doses of BCG achieved blood sugar reductions of more than 10 percent at three years and sustained those lower A1c levels for another five years.
The vaccine costs $157 per dose in the U.S., according to Kaiser Health News—well below the price of insulin, which has more than doubled in the last decade.
Camillo Ricordi, MD, director of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami, told KHN he is “cautiously optimistic” about the results. But he and the American Diabetes Association said more clinical evidence is needed before families should seriously consider BCG as a valid treatment for type 1 diabetes.
A larger, phase II trial is currently underway.
Read more from KHN below:
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.