Diabetes affects more than 100 million adults in the United States, and new medications and treatments to control the condition are being developed all the time. There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is actually an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas [Read More]
ViaCyte, headquartered in San Diego, has received funding commitments to continue clinical trials on their beta cell replacement products (1). The products, PEC-Direct and PEC-Encap, contain stem cells that differentiate into pancreatic cells, including insulin-secreting beta cells, after implantation. Additionally, these cells are housed in a capsule that prevents rejection of the implanted cells. If [Read More]
Douglas Melton was studying frog eggs at a laboratory in Harvard University when his 6-month-old son Sam was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Later, the Melton’s daughter Emma was diagnosed with the same condition. Melton dropped what he was doing and launched efforts to create insulin-producing pancreatic cells in the laboratory. In people with type [Read More]
Researchers at Egypt’s Assiut University are studying the application of stem cell treatment for chronic diabetic foot ulcers. The interventional study, which is not yet open for enrollment, is an open-label single group assessment. Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Amputations It is estimated that approximately 15 percent of diabetics develop a foot ulcer at some point [Read More]
Researchers in Denmark are working on developing a line of pure insulin-producing stem cells that could revolutionize the treatment of diabetes. Living cells that release insulin inside the body are of interest to scientists because they are directly responsive to alterations in the blood sugar level. Diabetes Mellitus: An Overview Diabetes mellitus is a condition [Read More]
Researchers at the University of Colorado in Aurora hope to use stem cells to treat diabetes and do away with the need for daily insulin injections. Type 1 Diabetes Treatment Without Insulin People diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have a life-threatening lack of insulin in their bodies. Daily injections of insulin are necessary to regulate [Read More]
One of the earliest signs and most common complications of diabetes is nerve damage. The high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood can injure nerve fibers in any part of the body, but this damage most often occurs in the legs and feet. This serious complication of diabetes is known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Type 1 diabetes is a rare form of diabetes, typically diagnosed during childhood or adolescence. Previously known as juvenile diabetes, it affects only 5 percent of the total number of people with diabetes. In people with type 1 diabetes, the islet beta cells in the pancreas do not produce a sufficient amount of insulin. Insulin [Read More]
The end of September 2016 marked the first FDA approval of an artificial pancreas for the treatment of type 1 diabetes1. This new device measures the patient’s glucose levels every 5 minutes and determines whether and how much insulin needs to be given. The new treatment promises better control of glucose and a significant easing [Read More]
Researchers at Egypt’s Mansoura University have shown that mesenchymal stem cells hold promise in healing recalcitrant foot ulcers in patients with diabetes. In a study led by Ahmed Albehairy, MD, the scientists used a local injection of autologous bone-marrow-derived stem cells and found it greatly reduced ulcer size.
Nature Communications reports that researchers at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have succeeded in genetically reprogramming adipose stem cells into functional, insulin-producing beta cells. The team of biotechnologists, led by Professor Martin Fussenegger, extracted fat cells from a 50-year-old study subject and applied so-called “genetic software” to convert [Read More]
