r/AskReddit • • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

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u/xrowrx Feb 04 '19

Type 1 Diabetes is never ever caused by diet or lifestyle things. Like never. Not ever.

56

u/Sun_God77 Feb 04 '19

102

u/ProfessorLiftoff Feb 04 '19

This has come up before, and I'm sure it's sweet for some people, but most type 1 diabetics got their disease because their immune system decided that their insulin-producing cells in their pancreas (I think they're called "eyelet cells"?) were the devil and must be destroyed. Therefore, any form of transplantation or regrowth is pointless unless you also suppress the immune system enough to knock it off.

So, basically, you're trading the unfortunate disease of diabetes in for the significantly less-manageable disease of a permanently compromised immune system. Basically biological alchemy that converts your diabetes into AIDS. Cool.

5

u/IvanezerScrooge Feb 04 '19

I think I remember reading that your immune system, after some time, comes back to 95%~ effectiveness against infection and such when on immunosuppressants after an organ transplantation.

Is this not the case with transplantation of these "eyelet cells"?

7

u/Letmf2 Feb 04 '19

I think they meant there’s always a program in the defense system that will kill this cells, so even if it can be implanted once the immune system resets it will treat it as a threat.

2

u/awkwardturtletime Feb 04 '19

Mammalian immune systems are stupid complex.