A Step Closer To The Cure For Diabetes type 1

The hunt for a cure for type 1 diabetes has
recently taken a "tremendous step forward",
scientists have said.
The disease is caused by the immune system
destroying the cells that control blood sugar levels.
A team at Harvard University used stem cells to
produce hundreds of millions of the cells in the
laboratory.
Tests on mice showed the cells could treat the disease,
which experts described as "potentially a major
medical breakthrough".
Beta cells in the pancreas pump out insulin to bring
down blood sugar levels.
But the body's own immune system can turn against
the beta cells, destroying them and leaving people
with a potentially fatal disease because they cannot
regulate their blood sugar levels.
It is different to the far more common type 2 diabetes
which is largely due to poor lifestyle.
Perfect cocktail
The team at Harvard was led by Prof Doug Melton
who began the search for a cure when his son was
diagnosed 23 years ago. He then had a daughter
who also developed type 1.
He is attempting to replace the approximately 150
million missing beta cells, using stem cell technology.
Lab-made beta cells were transplanted into the
mice
He found the perfect cocktail of chemicals to transform
embryonic stem cells into functioning beta cells.
Tests on mice with type 1 diabetes, published in the
journal Cell , showed that the lab-made cells could
produce insulin and control blood sugar levels for
several months.
Dr Melton said: "It was gratifying to know that we
could do something that we always thought was
possible.
"We are now just one pre-clinical step away from the
finish line."
However, his children were not quite so impressed: "I
think, like all kids, they always assumed that if I
said I'd do this, I'd do it."
If the beta cells were injected into a person they would
still face an immune assault and ultimately would
be destroyed.
More research is needed before this could become a
cure.
'Game-changer'
Sarah Johnson, from the charity JDRF which funded
the study, told the BBC: "This isn't a cure, it is a great
move along the path. It is a tremendous step forward.
"Replacing the cells that produce insulin as well as
turning off the immune response that causes type 1
diabetes is the long-term goal."
Prof Chris Mason, a stem cell scientist at University
College London, said: "A scientific breakthrough is to
make functional cells that cure a diabetic mouse, but
a major medical breakthrough is to be able to
manufacture at large enough scale the functional
cells to treat all diabetics.
"This research is therefore a scientific and potentially
a major medical breakthrough.
"If this scalable technology is proven to work in both
the clinic and in the manufacturing facility, the
impact on the treatment of diabetes will be a medical
game-changer on a par with antibiotics and
bacterial infections."
Dr Gillian Morrison, from the University of
Edinburgh, agreed that this "represents a real
advance in the field".
She said: "The next important challenge will be to
find ways to maintain these cells inside the body so
they are protected from the immune response and have
long-term function."