The latest experimental method of treatment of diabetes can allow the body to create all the necessary insulin after one dose of laboratory -grown pancreatic cells. This stems from a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, according to which the year from the start of treatment, ten out of 12 participants do not need to inject insulin production, TASR writes according to the scientific scientific server Science News.
People can’t survive without insulin
The diabetes of the first type is an autoimmune disease in which human immune system destroys cells producing insulin in the pancreas. More than eight million people suffer from it worldwide. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose to get from the bloodstream into the cells and turn it into energy.
“People cannot survive without insulin,” said one of the authors of the Felicia Pagliic study. Diabetics must therefore be supplemented by injection. It has been used for more than a hundred years and, together with insulin pumps or continuous glucose monitoring systems, helps patients monitor and adjust the insulin levels in the blood.
“New types of therapies are really urgent,” says Pagliic. “In 2023, the US Food and Drug Control Office (FDA) approved therapy using pancreatic cells from deceased donors to replace lost cells producing insulin in people with type diabetes. Treatment is limited by the number of donors and the quality of their cells.
The study brings important results and progress in the treatment of diabetes
According to the study, the latest way can grow pancreatic cells in the laboratory with the help of human stem cells and a mixture of nutrients and chemicals. However, such clusters of cells do not reach the pancreas after administration, but settle in the liver of patients.
Scientists have given hundreds of millions of such cells in a study of 14 diabetics. According to Pagliucova, they start working immediately. The bodies of ten of the twelve treated previously dependent on insulin supplementation a year after starting treatment were able to produce enough of their own insulin and two more reduced the necessary doses by up to 70 percent.
Although patients generally bear the treatment well, scientists have experienced two unrelated deaths and a number of side effects. One patient died during another surgery and the other as a result of previous brain damage.
Researchers believe that in 2026 they will be able to apply for official treatment approval
Side effects included diarrhea, headache, nausea or greater susceptibility to diseases attacking the immune system. This is due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs that prevent the body from attacking new pancreatic cells.
In the meantime, the pharmacological company behind research has expanded a sample of patients to 50, all of which have already received a dose of new cells. Researchers believe that they will receive enough data on treatment as soon as possible and in 2026 they will be able to apply for its official approval.
