Pilot Clinical Trial of Ustekinumab in Patients With New-onset T1D
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2017-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In type 1 diabetes (T1D), immune defense cells in the body attack and destroy
insulin-producing beta cells leaving affected people with a lifelong need for daily insulin
injections. Even with insulin injections, blood glucose (sugar) control is imperfect and
leads to many health complications and a shortened life span. This is a pilot clinical trial
to test the safety of a drug, ustekinumab, in 20 adult subjects with recent-onset T1D.
Ustekinumab is currently licensed for use in psoriasis where it has proven to be both highly
effective and safe and so the investigators hope to see a similar effect in T1D. This trial
will also be used to determine the best dosage and frequency of the drug to be given to
people with T1D to help design future studies on the drug's effectiveness. The investigators
hope that if the drug can block immune cells soon after the development of diabetes, any
remaining insulin-producing cells may be protected, and regenerate, thus producing more
insulin so that individuals may be insulin free, or require less insulin.