# This Man Says a 'Rare Gene' Cured His Type 1 Diabetes. Experts Are Skeptical.



## Northerner (Jun 26, 2019)

Type 1 diabetes, or diabetes mellitus, is an incurable disease that requires lifelong treatment. That is, unless you're Daniel Darkes.

About eight years ago, Darkes said, doctors diagnosed him with type 1 diabetes: a potentially life-threatening condition in which the immune system kills off the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone necessary for transporting glucose, or sugar, into cells so they can produce energy.

But early last year, routine finger-prick tests showed his blood-sugar levels were normal, so doctors advised him to stop his insulin injections, Darkes said. Now, his doctors have told him they're 80 percent sure he's cured, the Northampton Chronicle and Echo reported. If true, this would mean Darkes could be the first person ever to naturally experience complete remission of type 1 diabetes. [27 Oddest Medical Cases]

https://www.livescience.com/63157-diabetes-cure-improbable.html

This is from last year but I did find it interesting from a personal point of view. I was diagnosed 11 years ago and put on lantus and novorapid. About 4 years post-diagnosis my need of lantus had reduced to zero and it has been that way ever since. Unlike the guy in the article though, I have always needed some novorapid if a carb succeeds in travelling down my throat   I'm currently awaiting the results of a C-peptide test to find out how much endogenous insulin I have. I was surprised to read in the article that you only need 10% of beta cells to survive in order to provide sufficient insulin, and I know that many long-term Type 1s still have some beta cells for decades after diagnosis - maybe I'm somewhere in between? I have encountered maybe half a dozen people here on the forum over the years in a similar position to me, so I know I'm not unique. Like the man in the article I am also a runner, but certainly not, and never have been, an ultra-runner   Maybe I'm MODY after all? Watch this space!


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## Matt Cycle (Jun 26, 2019)

Northerner said:


> This is from last year but I did find it interesting from a personal point of view. I was diagnosed 11 years ago and put on lantus and novorapid. About 4 years post-diagnosis my need of lantus had reduced to zero and it has been that way ever since. Unlike the guy in the article though, I have always needed some novorapid if a carb succeeds in travelling down my throat   I'm currently awaiting the results of a C-peptide test to find out how much endogenous insulin I have. I was surprised to read in the article that you only need 10% of beta cells to survive in order to provide sufficient insulin, and I know that many long-term Type 1s still have some beta cells for decades after diagnosis - maybe I'm somewhere in between? I have encountered maybe half a dozen people here on the forum over the years in a similar position to me, so I know I'm not unique. Like the man in the article I am also a runner, but certainly not, and never have been, an ultra-runner   Maybe I'm MODY after all? Watch this space!



Interesting. I've seen this mentioned before and interviews with him.  Seems pretty clear to me he wasn't Type 1 in the first place.  As mentioned in the article a few conflicting elements to it.  Until all tests are done and published we won't really know the full story.

As you say and in my 3.5 years on here there have been people come on the forum after being told they have T1 (often diagnosed later in life) who then reduce or stop insulin and are generally re-diagnosed as T2.  In the article one of the docs says 5-11% of T1's are actually MODY.

They rarely bother with C-pep tests and I only had one before I got the pump - 30 years after diagnosis!  Result came back not detectable.  When do you get your results?


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## Northerner (Jun 26, 2019)

Matt Cycle said:


> When do you get your results?


Not sure. They have sent it away to Exeter, so it might be a few weeks apparently. The people I was referring to were Type 1, but like me they stopped needing basal but still needed bolus. Actually, I was thinking about it and I have often read that some people on pumps find they need to set a zero, or extremely low basal rate for a few hours during the night - it's possible I might be like them, actually needing basal during the day but compensating with my bolus insulin which tends to be 3 injections spaced about 5 hours apart. I did once try a 'day without diabetes' when I only ate no-carb food and had no insulin and my levels were generally in the upper 8s/low 9s.


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## mikeyB (Jun 26, 2019)

It surely isn’t beyond the wit of the NHS to do C-peptide tests on all newly diagnosed folk with diabetes, it would make life a lot easier, particularly for 3c types.


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## Northerner (Jun 26, 2019)

mikeyB said:


> It surely isn’t beyond the wit of the NHS to do C-peptide tests on all newly diagnosed folk with diabetes, it would make life a lot easier, particularly for 3c types.


I was told the test is quite an expensive one, so I guess that's a limiting factor.


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## mikeyB (Jun 26, 2019)

It’s also quite expensive treating folk with insulin when they don’t really need it. It’s not that expensive a test when you look at the big picture.


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## grovesy (Jun 26, 2019)

With current research pointing to many differnt types, requiring differnt treatments, I suspect till widespread genetic testing, this will continue to happen.


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## Robin (Jun 26, 2019)

Northerner said:


> I was told the test is quite an expensive one, so I guess that's a limiting factor.


I was having a google, as you do, and found this.
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_707155_en.html
According to this, the new test costs £10, it can be done by the hospitals instead of sending away to Exeter, and places like Edinburgh are doing it routinely. Sounds as if not everywhere has caught on yet.


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## Northerner (Jun 26, 2019)

Robin said:


> I was having a google, as you do, and found this.
> https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_707155_en.html
> According to this, the new test costs £10, it can be done by the hospitals instead of sending away to Exeter, and places like Edinburgh are doing it routinely. Sounds as if not everywhere has caught on yet.


Interesting!  £10 isn't much to pay for the right diagnosis, I seem to remember something like £200 was mentioned a few years ago.


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