Their immune system destroys the cells that make insulin, the hormone needed to control blood sugar levels.
A study in 80 patients, published in the journal Science
Translational Medicine, showed a vaccine could retrain their immune
system.Experts described the results as a "significant step".Normally a vaccine teaches the immune system to attack bacteria or viruses that cause disease, such as the polio virus.
Prof Lawrence Steinman said: "We're very excited by these results, which suggest that the immunologist's dream of shutting down just a single subset of dysfunctional immune cells without wrecking the whole immune system may be attainable. "This vaccine is a new concept. It's shutting off a specific immune response."
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