A Stem cell is a cell which has the possibilty to reproduce itself and to develop into specific ones present in all the organs in the human body, through cell division. Each cell of the human body is differentiated, they have a specific function. However, stem cells are undifferentiated. They can generate various specialized cell types and then they can be used to repair damaged organs and tissues. Due to this, stem cells are nowadays considered as an anwser to incurable diseases like Leukemia or Parkinson's disease, and Diabetes too!! They are the object of a lot of research.
According to the Times, in an article dated 11 April 2007 "Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again." The experiment has been done on "15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes", an important point here because it seems that it doesn't work with old ones. However, only two of them have been able to live without insulin for 3 years since the therapy, while the others keep needing some injections, but just once a week and in small quantities.
The treatment is quite simple. Doctors have isolated stem cells from the blood of patients, who then "underwent a mild form of chemotherapy to eliminate the white blood cells causing damage to the pancreas". Afterwards, "they were given transfusions of their own stem cells to help rebuild their immune systems".
Eventhough this is a simple operation, it is not yet applicable to all patients, because of the randomness of stem cell differenciation, which can degenerate into tumor cells. Moreover, the patient has to have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for less than 6 weeks, otherwise it is inefficient.
According to the Times, in an article dated 11 April 2007 "Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again." The experiment has been done on "15 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes", an important point here because it seems that it doesn't work with old ones. However, only two of them have been able to live without insulin for 3 years since the therapy, while the others keep needing some injections, but just once a week and in small quantities.The treatment is quite simple. Doctors have isolated stem cells from the blood of patients, who then "underwent a mild form of chemotherapy to eliminate the white blood cells causing damage to the pancreas". Afterwards, "they were given transfusions of their own stem cells to help rebuild their immune systems".
Eventhough this is a simple operation, it is not yet applicable to all patients, because of the randomness of stem cell differenciation, which can degenerate into tumor cells. Moreover, the patient has to have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for less than 6 weeks, otherwise it is inefficient.
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