Stem Cell Therapy Reverses Diabetes
- Reported, January 13, 2012
 (Ivanhoe
Newswire)- Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking
its pancreatic islet beta cells and requires daily injections of insulin to
regulate the patient's blood glucose levels.
A new method found in the BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine uses
stem cells from cord blood to reeducate the T cells in a diabetic's blood to
restart the pancreatic function and reduce the need for insulin. In Stem Cell
Educator therapy, lymphocytes were separated from a patient's blood over
immobilized donated cord blood stem cells. After two or three hours in the
device the revamped lymphocytes are returned to the patient. Progress was
checked at 4, 12, 24 and 40 weeks after therapy.
After 12 weeks results showed an increase in C-peptide levels. C-peptide is a
protein fragment created from insulin that can be used to determine how well
beta cells are working. Levels increased at 24 weeks and remained the same at
the end of the study, meaning that the patient's daily dose of insulin could be
reduced. Also results showed that the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) indicator of
long term glucose control also dropped for people receiving the treatment.
Dr Yong Zhao, from University of Illinois at Chicago, was quoted as saying, "We
also saw an improved autoimmune control in these patients. Stem Cell Educator
therapy increased the percentage of regulatory T lymphocytes in the blood of
people in the treatment group. Other markers of immune function, such as
TGF-beta1 also improved. Our results suggest that it is this improvement in
autoimmune control, mediated by the autoimmune regulator AIRE in the CBSC, which
allows the pancreatic islet beta cells to recover."
Source: BMC Medicine, January 2012
-
WF Team
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