How stem cells treat diabetes information
How stem cells treat diabetes is definitely an ever continuing subject for medical research and displays great promise.
How stem cells treat diabetes is usually an ever recurring subject for medical research and indicates great promise. The University of Pennsylvania is currently performing clinical trials for a new surgery known as Islet Cell Transplantation.
The modern procedure involves transplanting islet cells from a matching donor. Beta islet cells are definitely the cells from the pancreas that secrete insulin. The method is for Type 1 diabetics whose Beta islet cells have already been destroyed therefore no insulin is manufactured. These patients must be on insulin therapy for the rest of their lives. Since the cells are transplanted into the liver, the body following the first transplant can give signs if the blood sugar is too low. Many Type 1 diabetics don’t have any warning and quite often just blackout which may be harmful when driving a car or executing other critical tasks diabetes care.
Islet cell transplantation cannot treat many instances of Type 2 diabetes but is a possible remedy for the over 700,000 people in the United States who may have Type 1 diabetes. But, currently there aren’t enough donors to go around with only around 3,500 donor organs readily available a year ago. Most patients currently need 2 transplantations to get absolutely off insulin therapy.
The solution to this issue is to create islets in the lab using stems cells. There is presently research going on using controversial embryonic stem cells as well as stem cells obtained from adults. But due to the ethical and also political debate regarding stem cells this pathway to a cure is going slowly. People who believe life begins at conception highly fight embryonic stem cell research since the cells come from human embryos that happen to be destroyed in the process. Embryonic stem cells haven’t matured into human cells and also have the greatest possibility to become any type of cells in the human body, including hair, skin, blood, toenail etc.
Competitors to this research believe that adult stem cells taken from adult bone marrow is the solution to this issue. But you will find studies which raise questions regarding the ability of these cells as therapies.
An up to date published study reported that an intestinal hormone caused stem cells obtained from a pancreas to turn into islet cells that produce insulin – they are called beta cells, but there’s debate over these studies and it has not had the opportunity to be duplicated.
Even though the research using stem cells is in its infant stages many scientists believe that this study supports the most promise for success for diabetics to be able to quit taking insulin injection immediately after their own bodies begin generating the hormone by natural means symptoms diabetes.
How stem cells treat diabetes is undoubtedly an ever ongoing subject matter for medical research and displays great promise in the battle to find a remedy for this long-term disease.