Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. It is classified into two types I and II. Type I usually occurs in adolescence and is a not well understood process in which the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin are completely destroyed. Type II is a collection of related problems which usually involve some combination of insulin production and insulin resistance. People with type I are entirely dependent on injecting insulin to manage their diabetes. Some people with type II reach a point at which they also need to inject insulin. The holy grail of diabetes treatment has long been the hope for a means of replacing beta cells. Now researchers at Harvard have taken a giant step along the road toward achieving that goal.
Type 1 diabetes breakthrough using stem cell research raises hope for cure Experts at Harvard University use stem cells to create insulin-producing beta cells in large quantities, and say human transplantation trials could be under way within a few years
Scientists believe they have made a major advance in the quest to find an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes.
Using human embryonic stem cells as a starting point, they have for the first time been able to create human insulin-producing beta cells equivalent in almost every way to normally functioning beta cells in the kind of large quantities needed for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical purposes.
“[While] there have been previous reports of other labs deriving beta cell types from stem cells, no other group has produced mature beta cells as suitable for use in patients,” he said.
“The biggest hurdle has been to get to glucose-sensing, insulin-secreting beta cells, and that’s what our group has done.
“We are now just one pre-clinical step away from the finish line.”
As part of the research they have developed a device to protect the transplanted beta cells from immune attacks by the body of the recipient. It has proved to be effective in mice. At present there are experimental cell transplant treatments for humans using cells from cadavers. They require heavy dosages of immunosuppressive drugs. They have not proven feasible for general clinical application.
This is one of a number of of areas in which the use of stem cells offers great prospects for regenerative medicine. We will of course hear cries of outrage from the right wing fetus lobby.
This form of beta cell transplant is not going to be available in the immediate future. However, it does appear to offer real hope for people down the road.