SINGAPORE: Developing A Trojan Cure For Diabetes

Kidney Dialysis Foundation and National University of Singapore sign up for a $750,000 project to develop one SINGAPORE (Today), November 28, 2007: A cure for diabetes may be on the horizon, as the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Kidney Dialysis Foundation (KDF) work towards developing one in the next few years, with fresh funding. The two signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday to collaborate on research to prevent, treat and cure kidney and kidney-related diseases. The KDF will provide and solicit funding for the KDF-NUS Kidney Research Fund. So far, it has received $900,000 to be dispensed over three years. The first project to be supported is diabetes stem cell research that aims to cure diabetes, which statistics show is a leading cause of kidney disease. For this project, $750,000 will be committed. The project will be led by Sir Roy Calne, Emeritus Professor at Cambridge University. The aim of the project is to introduce a safe virus - the Lenti virus - carrying the human insulin gene into the liver cells of diabetic animals, and eventually apply this treatment to human patients. The virus acts like a "Trojan wooden horse" and the hope is that the liver cells will be persuaded to act like the pancreas, producing insulin, said Prof Calne, a visiting professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. There are risks involved, he added - for diabetics may have a weak heart or troubled kidneys, and the procedure may put stress on other organs. Sydney-based researcher, Professor Ann Simpson, has succeeded in curing diabetes in rats and mice using a similar virus and gene, but the surgery is extensive, said Prof Calne. The NUS team will be working with her and other scientists at Cambridge to find a less invasive way to apply the treatment to humans. The team hopes that, by the end of three years, they will be able to cure diabetes in larger animals, mainly pigs, and find ways to work with human beings at minimal risk, said Prof Calne. Dr Gordon Ku, chairman of the KDF, said that with Singapore's population projected to grow to 6.5 million, there could be some 1,625 new patients requiring kidney dialysis every year. The $900,000 donation came from Dr Ku and five of his close businessmen friends. He hopes this will spur others to follow suit, and added that the funds for research and for patient subsidy would remain separate. By Alicia Wong Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd