A leading expert has claimed diabetes could be cured in the next 25 years.
Researcher Dr Nick Oliver, diabetes consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said he expects to see the condition wiped out before he retires.
He told The Daily Express Britain is leading the race to combat the disease, which is caused by the pancreas failing to any insulin (Type 1) or insufficient levels of the hormone (Type 2).
Insulin is needed to break down sugar in the blood to allow the body to use the glucose as fuel.
The disease is expected to affect 6.25million people by 2035, and already costs the NHS £1million an hour in treatments and drugs.
Dr Oliver said: 'There are lots of avenues that will lead to potential cures for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and if I could see it in my career that would be incredibly exciting.'
'Diabetes can’t be cured at the moment. The race is on to get effective treatments for people. Their quality of life is important.'
Dr Oliver, 39, is currently leading a team carrying out human trials on the world's first artificial pancreas.
If successful the step forward would offer the 400,000 sufferers of Type 1 diabetes - when a person's body cannot produce enough insulin - a new and effective treatment.
The Bio-Inspired Artificial Pancreas – BiAP – is attached to the abdomen via a thin tube.
The device reads a patients' sugar levels and transmits information to an insulin pump. The pump then releases hormones as and when it is needed.
The invention would eliminate the need for daily blood tests and injections, required by diabetics.
Jess Bristow, 46, of Surrey, one of 20 in the trial, said: 'Since I’ve been using it my life is 100 times better.'
In comparison to Type 1 diabetes, which is genetic, Type 2 diabetes is predominantly caused by lifestyle and is closely linked to obesity.
In 2011, a research trial at Newcastle University examined whether a low-calorie liquid diet could be effective in putting Type 2 diabetes into remission.
Around three million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes, while another 850,000 are thought to be living with the condition without knowing.
The disease can cause series complications, including heart disease, blindness, stroke and kidney failure as well as amputation of toes as a result of poor circulation and damaged nerves.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
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