Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil, and Northwestern University, in Chicago have successfully prevented patients with Type 1 diabetes from having to start insulin.
A combination of stem cells derived from patients’ blood and immunosuppression to eliminate a faulty immune system can help keep newly diagnosed diabetics off insulin, according to a preliminary study published today. The findings, which still need to be verified in larger groups, are part of a growing effort to use immunotherapy to halt the progress of Type 1 diabetes.
“This is a therapy designed to stop the disease process so a person’s native cells remain intact,” says Jay Skylar, director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at the University of Miami, who wrote an editorial accompanying the paper, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Much more research is needed but the early results are extremely promising for diabetics.
[Rebooting the Immune System of Diabetics]
The contents of this post are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional health care. I’m not a medical doctor, so I do not give medical advice. For medical emergencies seek immediate medical attention!
[tags]Diabetics, diabetes, type 1, type 1 diabetes, immune system, immune deficiency[/tags]