Stem Cell Cures for Diabetes
- Diabetes is an auto-immune condition in which the body's immune system kills off the cells responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. These cells are called the Islets of Langham, and are located in the pancreas. They work to control blood sugar levels by secreting insulin into the bloodstream when sugar levels get too high. Individuals diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes must undergo daily insulin injections in order to control blood sugar levels. Stem cell cures for diabetes may provide a way to replace these islet cells and create a healthy immune system environment.
- Embryonic stem cell research has attempted to develop ways to use embryonic stem cells to re-grow pancreatic cells. Embryonic cells are undifferentiated, meaning they have the ability to grow into any cell, tissue or organ mass within the body. Implanting these cells into the pancreas is expected to replace the existing cells. Because embryos must be destroyed in order to obtain these cells, this research has met with ongoing controversy. In addition, the potential for embryonic stem cells to mutate once implanted is high, making this line of treatment improbable until scientists can better understand how to control the growth processes within these cells.
- Adult stem cell research involves using donor cells or a patient's own cells as transplant material. Adult stem cells differ from embryonic cells in their degree of differentiation, meaning adult cells are limited in how many different cell types they can produce. Their ability to differentiate depends on what area of the body they're taken from. However, cells taken from a donor pancreas may have the ability to produce the types of cells needed by the pancreas. As with embryonic cells, the challenge lies in being able to control how these cells grow.
- Another potential treatment or cure for diabetes, known as induced pluripotent (iPs) stem cells, was discovered in 2007. iPs cells are skin cells that have been genetically altered through DNA reprogramming. These cells function like embryonic cells in that they can grow, or transform, into any cell type within the body. However, like embryonic cells, the risk of mutation and cancer growth is high.
- In April, 2007, a research study conducted in Brazil examined the effects of stem cell transfusions on 15 patients diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The results of this study appeared in the April 2007 Journal of the American Medical Association. The stem cells used were drawn from the patients' own blood. Prior to administering the stem cells, the patients were given drugs to eliminate the immune system and to keep the body from destroying the newly implanted islet cells. Once the new stem cells began to grow, a new immune system began to form. Thirteen of the 15 patients were able to eliminate daily insulin injections for up to three years after the treatment ended.
