Potential Cure for Type 1 Diabetes?
As medical technologists, how often do you perform glucose tests? Type 1 diabetes is a common and dangerous condition that’s triggered when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells that move glucose into the body’s cells. Today there’s positive news on the potential impact stem cell therapy has to cure diabetes. According to the Daily Express (London), scientists used stem cells found in the umbilical cord to “re-educate” a diabetic’s immune T-cells, which can counteract mutant or damaged cells. This restarted the pancreas, reducing the need for insulin by up to 38 percent in just 12 weeks. Of course additional studies under various conditions are needed and some under way, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.