month period, successfully prolonged patients' ability to make insulin, compared with patients who received a placebo, the researchers said. Kaufman said the vaccine worked best at a low-to-medium dosage and the trial showed no safety concerns. "The study shows that it is possible to inhibit the autoimmune attack on the cells that make insulin, thereby slowing the progression of type 1 diabetes," said Kaufman. Further studies are planned, the researcher said. Diamyd expects the vaccine to first be used to prevent diabetes patients being treated with oral drugs from becoming dependent on insulin injections. Further applications are expected to be the prevention of insulin dependency in children and young people who run the risk of developing the illness and increasing the survival capability of insulin producing cells after transplantation. "Any delay in onset of diabetes would have an important impact in terms of long-term complications from the disease," Reuters quoted Kaufman as saying.
