3 ms·

Of course you need insulin. Just not when your glucose is 75 (below 70 is hypoglycemia). Sure, it's complex. People with type 1 don't have any insulin product

Of course you need insulin. Just not when your glucose is 75 (below 70 is hypoglycemia). Sure, it's complex. People with type 1 don't have any insulin production at all, and typically get it in large doses (syringe) that absorb slowly or dripped out from a pump. With no endogenous production, we do not make c-peptide (it's a protein or something cleaved off of pro-insulin in the body's synthesis of insulin. Levels are measured in blood tests to determine your level of insulin production - after honeymoon period, type 1s produce no insulin and therefore no c-peptide).

AnthonBerg 5y ago
I was referring specifically to the text as quoted, especially “even better than having a fully functional pancreas” :) I’m intimately familiar with Type 1 diabetes. I find the nuances of what the pancreas does to be quite fascinating, and the closer we get to understanding what matters and to replicating it, the better. I believe that one wants the pulsatile secretion as well as C-peptide. There are some recent results on C-peptide as far as I know. I believe there is still a noteworthy amount of C-peptide after the honeymoon, and I believe it is good to try to prolong the honeymoon as long as possible to retain as much C-peptide functionality as possible. C-peptide is an active signaling molecule. It makes sense: The body produces a complex and easily identifiable protein chain as a byproduct of the crucial insulin molecule. C-peptide is more stable than insulin itself and remains a bit longer in the body. It stands to reason that the ancient and highly-preserved evolutionary function of insulin metabolism has picked up a good use for C-peptide as a signal carrier on the way.
- code_duck 5y ago
  Ha, yes, it wouldn't -really- be better than your body working as intended. My thoughts were that for regular people, your body has to react to raising glucose by releasing insulin, while with this new insulin, it would already be in your blood. That pulsing secretion could be achieved with a pump. Maybe they already do it? I have LADA, which is known for a very long, gradual honeymoon period. I've looked into the studies intended to prolong function but they involve immune suppressants, as far as I can tell, which doesn't seem like a great idea in the Covid age.

AnthonBerg 5y ago

I was referring specifically to the text as quoted, especially “even better than having a fully functional pancreas” :) I’m intimately familiar with Type 1 diabetes. I find the nuances of what the pancreas does to be quite fascinating, and the closer we get to understanding what matters and to replicating it, the better. I believe that one wants the pulsatile secretion as well as C-peptide. There are some recent results on C-peptide as far as I know. I believe there is still a noteworthy amount of C-peptide after the honeymoon, and I believe it is good to try to prolong the honeymoon as long as possible to retain as much C-peptide functionality as possible. C-peptide is an active signaling molecule. It makes sense: The body produces a complex and easily identifiable protein chain as a byproduct of the crucial insulin molecule. C-peptide is more stable than insulin itself and remains a bit longer in the body. It stands to reason that the ancient and highly-preserved evolutionary function of insulin metabolism has picked up a good use for C-peptide as a signal carrier on the way.

code_duck 5y ago
Ha, yes, it wouldn't -really- be better than your body working as intended. My thoughts were that for regular people, your body has to react to raising glucose by releasing insulin, while with this new insulin, it would already be in your blood. That pulsing secretion could be achieved with a pump. Maybe they already do it? I have LADA, which is known for a very long, gradual honeymoon period. I've looked into the studies intended to prolong function but they involve immune suppressants, as far as I can tell, which doesn't seem like a great idea in the Covid age.