TB vaccine may help people with Type-1 diabetes
New York, June 24 : A vaccine primarily used for treating tuberculosis (TB) may be effective in reducing high blood sugar among people with Type - 1 diabetes, results from a clinical trial has revealed.
Type - 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produce little or no insulin.
The findings showed that, three years after receiving two administrations of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine four weeks apart, people with longstanding Type-1 diabetes showed an improvement in HbA1c -- Aglycated haemoglobin -- measured to test the overall sugar levels to near normal levels.
"This is clinical validation of the potential to stably lower blood sugars to near normal levels with a safe vaccine, even in patients with longstanding disease," said Denise Faustman, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory, US.
The study, published in the journal npj Vaccine, also reported that the effects of BCG vaccine on blood sugar control appear to depend on a totally novel metabolic mechanism that increases cellular consumption of glucose.
The team analysed data from 282 human study participants -- 52 with Type-1 diabetes who participated in the BCG clinical trials and 230 who contributed blood samples for mechanistic studies.
The results showed that the HbA1c levels of those receiving BCG had dropped by more than 10 per cent in three years after treatment and by more than 18 per cent in four years.
The study showed that BCG vaccination induces epigenetic reprogramming at the chromatin architecture level and functional alterations indicative of a permanent change in immunity.
Thus, the clinical effects and the proposed mechanism add to the emerging consensus that the BCG vaccine can have a lasting and valuable impact on the immune system, the researchers said.
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Make polling hours 6am-7pm for May 7 LS polls, Karnataka BJP urges EC citing heatwave
Bengaluru, May 3: Citing the ongoing heatwave in the state, Karnataka BJP on Friday petitioned the Election Commission with a request to modify the polling hours to the 6am-7pm period in the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state that goes to polls on May 7.
Polling is currently scheduled to be held in the second phase in the state in 14 segments in the northern districts between 7am to 6pm on May 7.
"It has become hard to come out and vote between hours 10.00 to 17.00 due to uncontrollable heat. The average heat in those parts (north Karnataka) covering 14 parliamentary constituencies are between 37 and 42 degree (Celsius). The mercury is rising at an alarming level and it would become hard for the electors to come out and vote," BJP's petition said.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave.
"To keep up the good spirit of voting, necessary action should be taken," the BJP petition urged the Election Commission, saying, "In this background, it is requested to modify the time of voting in the 14 parliamentary constituencies from 06.00 to 19.00 hours on May 7".
Polling was held between 7 am and 6 pm during Karnataka's first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies on April 26.
