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Question:
My six-year old grand daughter was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Is there anything that can be done to reverse it? It breaks my heart thinking she is going to have to inject herself each day with insulin.
Answer:
A special form of vitamin B3 is certainly worth a try. Niacinamide, also called nicotinamide, has been studied in eight studies in recent onset type-1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes). Six of these studies were double-blind studies. Out of these six, three studies showed a positive effect compared to placebo in terms of producing remission (cure) or lowering insulin requirements and improving blood sugar control. In the spring of 1993, a large multi-center study involving 18 European countries, Israel, and Canada was started to follow-up these encouraging preliminary findings. Unfortunately, the results from this study will not be available for at least another year.
Most medical doctors would look at the preliminary information and say something like "This research is very interesting, but, of course, I cannot recommend niacinamide until there is more absolute proof that it may be of value." Your grand daughter does not have the luxury of time. My recommendation is to talk with the child's doctor about monitoring her while she gives niacinamide therapy a try. If niacinamide therapy is effective, insulin requirements will either decline or it will no longer be required. Regular checks on liver function (a simple blood test) should be done every two months, as liver irritation is the only significant side effect with niacinamide noted in the trials. The daily dose of niacinamide is based on body weight, 25 mg per kilogram (2.2 pounds).
Niacinamide will certainly not work for all recent-onset IDDM patients, but it may work for some. I think it is certainly worth the effort, especially since there is no other reasonable alternative at this time.
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