Posted on 10/11/2014 9:18:54 AM PDT by null and void
There's no known cure for Type 1 diabetes, so for 3 million Americans, an insulin pump or regular insulin injections form an imperfect and temporary solution. And it's one that doesn't always keep some of the disease's worst outcomes, including blindness and limb amputation, at bay.
When those cells were transferred to diabetic mice, they behaved as healthy cells do and regulated blood sugar. "We can cure their diabetes right away—in less than 10 days," researcher Doug Melton tells NPR.
...while scientists have been able to achieve a similar end with insulin-producing cells sourced from cadavers, they've struggled with how to get the quantity they needed.
Now researchers have "the ability to make hundreds of millions of cells," Melton says. "It's a huge landmark paper," an outside researcher tells NPR. "I would say it's bigger than the discovery of insulin." For Melton, the issue is deeply personal: Both his children, now in their 20s, were diagnosed with the disease as kids.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Truth is truth, and censorship does not make it go away.
As unpleasant as I find it that embryonic human stem cells were used to treat mice, I can still hope that it points the way to using adult human stem cells to treat humans.
I know of scores of adult stem cell based treatments of dozens of conditions, and only this one using embryonic cells to treat mice. Perhaps some FReeper knows the actual stats?
BTTT.
This is poorly excerpted.
Also, a word of advice, don’t get too excited.
Even from this small excerpt I can smell the hype.
I agree that we need to know about bad news. Sometimes it can be headed off or disproved.
As most of us know, there are hundreds of useful treatments using adult stem cells, and virtually none using fetal stem cells. Of course, they’ve spent billions in government funding trying to find a use for fetal stem cells, because it would help them to “justify” abortion.
I agree. This sounds like early stage research, and may just be a lot of wishful thinking. And if it turns out that there is anything in it, chances are that adult stem cells will also do the trick, probably better.
Let's just murder more children and we will cure........
BKMK
I respect that. Especially after our FReep mails.
I know of scores of adult stem cell based treatments of dozens of conditions, and only this one using embryonic cells to treat mice. Perhaps some FReeper knows the actual stats?
...
Does anyone know why they can’t use adult stem cells?
I have a feeling some of this “science by press release” is done to push the abortion agenda.
Since the technology has advanced far enough to make it possible to harvest adult stem cells with the patient being the donor (and therefore much less chance of rejection), there is no reason to even go doping around with human embryonic stem cells.
Ever.
Unless you are trying to clone up the new baby.
Too much hype. Researchers have been curing cancer in mice for +50 years yet promising treatment after promising treatment fails human trials.
My understanding is that adult stem cells are more difficult to use.
Embryonic stem cells are at a stage where they want to differentiate into every cell type in the body.
In adults having cells do that is called cancer! (or at least a close cousin) So adult cells have inhibitory mechanisms in place to prevent that, which the embryonic cells haven't activated or developed yet.
Just my poor layman's understanding and 2¢ worth.
Great!
I’ve seen a number of promising things turn out to be nothing. Alas, my hopes for this one are the same as they were for the others. I hope this pans out. It would be amazing if it did.
Cannibalism!
From the original source cited in this article.
“Scientists have long sought a better solution, and a team at Harvard is now announcing that, 15 years into its research, it has successfully coaxed human embryonic stem cells into ones that produce insulin.”
Hopefully the results can be reproduced using ADULT stem cells in human subjects.
Who are we to judge!
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