Scientists in China have taken a major step forward in treating type 1 diabetes. They used a woman’s own fat cells and changed them to work like special cells in the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin. This new approach, to reverse type 1 diabetes, helped her body make insulin again, reducing her need for daily injections.
This achievement builds on other research suggesting that transformed cells could one day help people manage or even overcome diabetes. Remarkably, a year after the procedure, the patient still doesn’t need insulin shots.
Dr. Kevan Herold, an expert in medicine and immunology from Yale School of Medicine, called the findings “very exciting.” Although he was not part of the study, Dr. Herold noted the progress brings hope for better diabetes treatments in the future.
Insulin helps sugar leave the blood
Insulin acts like a key, helping sugar leave the blood and enter cells to provide energy. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys the cells that make insulin. These cells are found in small clusters, called islets, within the pancreas.
Without insulin, cells can’t get the energy they need, causing blood sugar levels to rise. In severe cases, the body starts producing acidic substances called ketones as it tries to find alternative fuel. If left unchecked, this process can be life-threatening.
Interesting science news from around the world. This month, we turn back time to see how complex cells evolved, celebrate the success of a world-first therapy to reverse type 1 diabetes, look into electricity treatments for depression, and learn how diamond dust could combat… pic.twitter.com/GWwee4pL2N
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In a new study published on Oct. 31 in the journal Cell, scientists used a patient’s own fat cells to find a potential solution. They chemically treated these cells, turning them into “pluripotent” stem cells, meaning they have the ability to become almost any type of cell in the body.
Once the scientists changed the fat cells back to a flexible state, they used chemicals to guide them into becoming islet cells, which can produce insulin. These new cells were then placed in the patient’s abdomen.
Insulin injections no longer needed 75 days after the transplant
Before this experimental procedure, the patient found it difficult to keep her blood sugar within a healthy range, managing to do so less than half the time, according to study lead author Hongkui Deng from the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at Peking University.
However, after receiving the cell transplant, her time in the healthy range increased to over 98%, Deng reported to Live Science in an email. Just 75 days after the transplant, the patient no longer needed insulin injections to manage her blood sugar.
“The rapidity with which the patient showed reversal of diabetes and achieved insulin independence after transplantation was surprising,” Deng said. “This finding suggested remarkable potential of this therapeutic strategy.”
