Stem Cell Treatment for Diabetics

An experimental stem cell treatment has enabled patients with type 1 diabetes to go for as long as four years without insulin injections, researchers say.

A US-Brazilian project with 23 patients found most were able to produce their own insulin after a transplant of stem cells from their own bone marrow.

The two main properties of stem cell is self-renewal (regeneration) and ability to evolve into a more specialised cell under certain circumstances. In diabetic, where the main issue is the lack of insulin-producing cells - beta cells - in the pancreas, stimulating the stem cells into beta cells is a an attractive and viable treatment option.