Needles, Goodbye
Diabetics may soon be able to say goodbye to insulin shots.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis successfully treated severe diabetes in mice using a new technique to convert human stem cells into insulin-producing cells, New Atlas reported.
Scientists have previously looked into diabetes treatments through changing stem cells into insulin-generating beta cells, but the process had a few drawbacks.
Whenever they converted stem cells into pancreatic beta cells, other types of cells would also show up, such as liver cells or other pancreatic cells.
This makes curing diseases harder, so the St. Louis team focused on reducing those unwanted extras.
The authors explained in their study that once they targeted the cells’ cytoskeleton – the underlying structure that gives cells their shape – they were able to produce a higher percentage of beta cells that functioned better.
The new beta cells were then injected into diabetic mice and managed to “functionally cure” the disease for up to nine months.
“It’s a completely different approach, fundamentally different in the way we go about it,” said co-author Jeffrey Millman.
Millman’s team is now working to prepare the treatment for human trials – and hopefully put an end to needles.
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