Abstract

Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, is considered a chronic incurable disease. Complete cure would bring enormous benefits in terms of both the prevention of complications and reduction of the very high resulting social cost. Recent advances in the study of autoimmune mechanisms for type 1 and some non-medical therapeutic approaches for type 2 shed light on the pathophysiology and induce optimism concerning a possible cure in the not-too-distant future. This perspective highlights the main mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of the two forms of diabetes, as the latest research has revealed, and the resulting possible therapeutic strategies that may be involved in obtaining a cure.

Keywords: Bariatric/metabolic surgery, gut-brain-liver/pancreas axis, neonatal transitory diabetes, oropharyngeal radiating therapy, T regulatory cells, type 1 diabetes pathophysiology, type 2 diabetes pathophysiology, vagal brainstem circuits.