OVERVIEW

The Beneficial Effects of the 100-Year-Old BCG Vaccine in Type 1 Diabetes - 2018 Annual Oration is organized by Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS).

Start Date:Feb 22, 2019
End Date:Feb 22, 2022

Credits:
AMA Credit Designation Statement:
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistant (NCCPA):
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 1.00 Category 1 credits for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.

Description:
BCG is a live attenuated bacterial vaccine that contains the avirulent tuberculosis strain Mycobacterium bovis. BCG has historically been given to protect against tuberculosis and, since its introduction in 1921, has been the most widely administered vaccine in the history of medicine. BCG is considered to be extremely safe and roughly 100 million children per year globally receive the vaccine. BCG is also one of the most affordable medicines, costing less than a dollar a dose in many parts of the world.

Expanded use of BCG is occurring globally for the treatment of diverse human autoimmune diseases, allergies and to alter immunity to infections. The MGH based and ongoing clinical trials, centered mostly on type 1 diabetes, have recently shown that limited BCG dosing even in long term type 1 diabetics can restore blood sugars to the near normal range with over 8 years of clinical trial monitoring. These restored blood sugars in the normal range are not associated with hypoglycemia, a differentiator from insulin therapy and many additional clinical trials are underway.

Objectives:
• Discuss how repeat BCG vaccines can help restore immune balance in autoimmune disorders, such as type 1 diabetes, by inducing an increase in Treg suppressor T-cells and by killing cytotoxic T-cells.
• Describe the beneficial effects of repeat BCG vaccination on glycemic control in type 1 diabetes, even in patients with advanced disease of greater than 20 years of duration, through induction of accelerated and regulated glucose uptake with aerobic glycolysis
• Summarize the rationale for re-introduction of the BCG vaccine for prevention of allergies and autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes.

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.