Essentially the big problem has been overcome and clumps of insulin
producing cells will become generally available in as soon as five
years. It has been expected and it was a first expectation when stem
cells first emerged. It is really happening now and we can soon end
diabetes.
It appears that type 2 can be handled much quicker as well. This is
good news for the many elderly hanging on and facing a serious
degenerative diagnosis. It may well be too late to help those
already seriously engaged with the disease, but all those merely at
risk now have a bright future. We are talking about the final defeat
of a disease which is a critical risk of aging.
Thus we all are at some level of real risk for this disease. Closing
that window is welcome.
New ground-breaking
discovery could spell the end of diabetes
By Andrew Fazekas
What is being hailed
as a major medical breakthrough gives new hope for those with Type 1
diabetes, thanks to human stem cells.
Scientists
have figured out a way to morph embryonic stem cells into making and
releasing insulin, which would be a big step forward in treating the
more severe form of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an
autoimmune disease in which the body’s pancreas stops producing
insulin – a hormone that enables us to get energy from food. The
body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks and wipes out the
insulin producing cells, which results in high blood sugar levels. If
these levels remain high over long periods of time, the condition can
increase the risk of stroke and heart disease, and can lead to damage
across the body from the kidneys and eyes to the gastrointestinal
system. The number of cases of Type 1 diabetes is quickly growing
around the world, especially in children. Rates are rising three
percent annually. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, in
Canada it is estimated that more than 300,000 are affected.
Meanwhile, the economic impacts are staggering as well – the costs
associated with diabetes in this country alone runs upwards of $9
billion when combining all the work loss and associated medical
expenses.
Now, in what many say
may be a giant leap towards a cure, the Harvard University-led team
claims that they are able to create an unlimited supply of
replacement pancreatic cells in mice by implanting them with human
embryonic cells that have been transformed into insulin-producing
cells.
In
the study, published this week in the journal Cell, the
team revealed that after the procedure the animals produced insulin
on their own for months.
Like their name
suggests, embryonic stem cells are derived from eggs that
have been fertilized in petri dishes and donated to research. As long
as the cells are kept under certain laboratory conditions, they
remain undifferentiated. As soon s they are allowed to clump
together, they begin to naturally form various kinds of cells –
like nerve, muscle or blood cells, amongst others.
By artificially
controlling and tweaking their environment, scientists can funnel the
growth of these cells into whatever specific types they need.
Traumatic spinal injuries, loss of vision, and Parkinson’s Disease
are just a few types of disorders stem cell research may help cure.
After 15 years of
tinkering, the Harvard team has finally been able to coax stem cells
to differentiate into insulin-producing cells.
While embryonic stem
cell research has not been without controversy, new lab techniques
avoids use of an embryo itself. Scientists can actually take adult
cells and artificially reverse them back into their former stem cell
status – and then specifically transform them into pancreatic
cells.
At this point, the one
stumbling block that needs to be solved is making sure the body does
not reject the implanted cells. But the team is working on two
promising solutions that involves placing a protective coating around
the new cells.
If all goes well, the
research team hopes to have government approval for human testing in
about three years.
And the news gets more
exciting, in that those suffering from Type 2 diabetes
might benefit even sooner.
Since this form of
diabetes is not an autoimmune disorder, the body won’t destroy the
pancreatic cells, so there would be no need to protect the implanted
cells.
For those living with
diabetes, a day without the need for insulin shots can’t come soon
enough.
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