Stem Cells & Diabetes – Rewriting Destiny With Stem Cells
Rewriting the Destiny with Stem Cells
Her Halloween party came crashing down as she was rushed to the hospital. It was six in the evening, and all the kids were seen with bags full of candies.
Lilly, an eight-year-old girl, was supposed to be on her way to trick-or-treat! But little did she know what trick destiny had played on her! She was constantly feeling thirsty and was extremely tired. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
In 2005, at the age of 14, Nick Jonas was diagnosed with type1 diabetes. Many kids and adults are suffering from this condition, and constant insulin injections are a must.
However, with the advances in science and technology, scientists strive to find other cures.
Most people suffering from type 1 diabetes were believed not to receive any sort of cure for their condition. Instead, they had to self-manage their sugar in the body with insulin, eat a regular diet, and exercise. However, from one of the recent studies involving a young woman in China, a new treatment brought hope closer to this possible cure.
In June 2023, doctors injected about 1.5 million insulin-producing cells into her abdominal muscles. The cells were made from stem cells taken from her body. Two and half months later, the woman no longer required the insulin injection, and her type 1 diabetic condition had been reversed.
Her body started producing enough insulin. And her blood sugar level was in a safe range for more than 98% of the day. This was observed approximately four months after the treatment. If the same condition continues and she can make insulin on her own in the upcoming years, she could be declared ‘cured.’ This will mark the first successful case in medical history.
Daisuke Yabe, a diabetes researcher who was not a part of the study, said, “That’s remarkable.” and also mentioned, “If this applies to other patients, it’s going to be wonderful.” Researchers in China are already planning to increase their trials to new patients.
Stem Cells & Diabetes – Rewriting Destiny With Stem Cells
Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the immune system attacks the islets. These are cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. In rare cases, islet or pancreas transplants from donors have cured people with type 1 diabetes. However, the procedure is potentially dangerous, and there is a shortage of donor organs.
Scientists have been trying for more than 20 years to convert adult cells back into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). These iPSCs are the blank state cells from which they can be differentiated again into insulin-producing cells, but it’s not easy, and the results are not perfect.
Chinese scientists have identified a new route that is thought to grant them more control. They did not use proteins during the whole reprogramming process of cells; instead, they used small molecules to engineer iPSCs from adult cells.
After the successful results in mice and monkeys, scientists were allowed to try this method on humans, and they are currently conducting tests on three patients.
Among those three patients, one patient was a 26-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes for 12 years since the age of 14. Previously, she had also been given a transplant of a pancreas for hypoglycemic conditions. However, this had to be removed due to severe thrombotic complications. So far, the stem cell transplant is working better alongside her immunosuppressive drugs.
These results benefit the growing list of similar research, indicating that stem cell transplants may be worthy of further investigation.
For example, in recent trials in the U.S., 12 patients were chosen and injected with islets created from donated stem cells. Along with this, immunosuppressant drugs were given. They all began to produce insulin, as shown in the preliminary results.
Researchers from China believe these results recommend further clinical studies and are an essential step toward personalized cell therapy for disease treatment.
For many years, the condition was thought to be irreversible, and lifelong medication was the only way. But now the game has been changed. While scientists work day and night to find answers, only time will tell whether we will succeed or not.
Stem Cells & Diabetes – Rewriting Destiny With Stem Cells