Israeli scientists use common drugs to cure 30% of mice with ‘Type 1.5 diabetes’

Israeli researchers at Bar-Ilan University have found that a combination of three common drugs—GABA, sitagliptin, and omeprazole—restored normal blood sugar levels in 30% of mice with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA), also known as Type 1.5 diabetes. The study also identified RNA biomarkers that predicted which mice would respond, paving the way for targeted human trials.

Marking World Diabetes Day on November 14, Israeli researchers from Bar-Ilan University's Azrieli Faculty of Medicine announced a potential breakthrough in treating Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA), colloquially known as 'Type 1.5 diabetes.' In a study published in MedComm, the team led by Dr. Ron Piran and lead author Wisal Sawaed used a combination of three drugs—GABA, sitagliptin, and omeprazole—on mice engineered to mimic LADA. About 30% of the treated mice achieved complete remission, with blood glucose levels returning to normal and no further need for insulin for weeks. The researchers also identified two cell-free RNA biomarkers, Adgrb1 and Chd5, that predicted which mice would respond. The drugs are already FDA-approved and on the market, which the researchers say could accelerate human clinical trials. LADA accounts for 9.1% of all diabetes cases worldwide, according to Sawaed. The article notes that in Israel, approximately 548,000 adults had diabetes as of 2021, nearly 10% of the adult population, above the OECD average of 6.7%.