Potentially exciting news comes from the University of B.C., where a team of scientists have reportedly found a way to reverse type 1 diabetes in mice by injecting them with human embryonic stem cell transplants that matured into insulin-secreting cells.
Over a few months, the mice were gradually weaned off insulin, and were considered to be pretty healthy.
“It took about four to five months for the (stem) cells to become functional in our experiments and the mice were able to maintain good blood glucose levels even when fed a high glucose diet,” explained lead author Timothy Kieffer, a UBC professor in the department of cellular and physiological sciences.
Detailed information about the tests and the mice is available on the Vancouver Sun website, which explains the methods the scientists used to carry out the successful trials.
The project, which was partially funded by the JDRF, cost $500,000 in total. While that is a lot of money, the good news is that it does seem to be focused on a type 1 diabetes cure.
Of course, some critical questions we should be asking ourselves are:
Can it deliver a Practical Cure?
It might have been a successful procedure in mice, but how will it work in humans?
Will it be a permanent cure?
Will it really help a diabetic live a life free of the limitations of this disease?
These are all important questions that we need to consider. Although we are happy to read about type 1 cure possibilities, the media is always publicizing news stories that involve successful cures in mice. Unless that progress moves from curing mice to curing humans, we will still have to unite our voices to create more focus on cure research.
– Stoyan
