Stem Cells Could Save Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Stem cell research, approved by President Obama earlier this year, could help patients fight type 1 diabetes, new research shows. A few people with the disease have been able to survive for nearly three years without insulin shots after having their own blood stem cells removed and injected into them, U.S. and Brazilian researchers reported Tuesday. So far, a couple dozen boys and men have been treated within six weeks of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, generally forcing individuals to take insulin shots to survive. (People with type 1 make up only about 10 percent of all diabetics; most people have type 2, which can be controlled with diet, exercise, oral drugs, or insulin shots.) “After the transplant, 20 of the 23 patients became insulin-free for at least a few months or even years,” reports Health.com. “Twelve of them stayed free of insulin for an average of 31 months and eight patients had periods ranging from six to 47 months in which they were free from insulin.”
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