Type 1 diabetes can be stopped before it occurs with a simple intervention –

A simple blow can prevent people at risk for type 1 diabetes from contracting the disease in the first place.

The drug, now known as IMCY-0098, blocks the defective immune system response believed to be responsible for the disease.

Type 1 diabetes affects 400,000 Brits and is potentially life threatening. For reasons that are not fully understood, the immune system activates healthy body tissue and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone that carries blood sugar into body cells to be used for energy.

Without insulin, sugar builds up in the blood and causes widespread organ damage.

Currently, IMCY-0098 has only been given to patients with early-stage type 1 diabetes, and it has been found to stop the production of immune-damaging cells called CD4, meaning the disease stops progressing.

Experts hope it will have the same effect in people who have not yet been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but whose symptoms — thirst and going to the bathroom a lot — indicate they may develop diabetes.

Although most patients develop the disease in childhood, it may first appear in adulthood, usually before the age of 30. Patients need to monitor their blood sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin each time they eat.

Because IMCY-0098 targets only CD4 cells, it does not affect the immune system’s ability to protect the body from other infections.

Professor Katharine Owen, a diabetes specialist at the University of Oxford, who led one arm of the research, said: “Insulin is an excellent treatment, but it doesn’t stop the progression of the disease.

“We already know that the new drug protects the pancreas, so patients have the ability to produce insulin. As a result, they are not completely dependent on injections to regulate their blood sugar levels, which is better for them in the long run.”

Patients can be screened for risk of developing type 1 diabetes by having their blood tested for a gene called HLA.

Prof Owen adds: “In the next decade, at-risk patients may take IMCY-0098 or other drugs currently in development to prevent the development of diabetes or slow its progression for decades.”