Posted on 11/11/2006 11:04:13 PM PST by batter
Scientists have used stem cells from human bone marrow to repair defective insulin-producing pancreatic cells responsible for diabetes in mice.
The treatment also halted damage to the kidneys caused by the condition.
Researchers from New Orleans' Tulane University are hopeful it can be adapted to treat diabetes in humans.
The study, featured in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was welcomed as "interesting work" by Diabetes UK.
Stem cells are immature cells which have the capacity to turn into any kind of tissue in the body.
The US team treated diabetic mice who had high blood sugar and damaged kidneys.
One group of mice were injected with stem cells. After three weeks they were shown to be producing higher levels of mouse insulin than untreated mice and had lower blood sugar levels.
The injections also appeared to halt damaging changes taking place in the glomeruli, the bulb-like structures in the kidneys that filter the blood.
Researcher Dr Darwin Prockop said: "We are not certain whether the kidneys improved because the blood sugar was lower or because the human cells were helping to repair the kidneys.
"But we suspect the human cells were repairing the kidneys in much the same way they were repairing the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."
Growing problem
Dr Prockop said his team were planning to carry out trials in patients with diabetes.
"The physicians will be selecting patients with diabetes whose kidneys are beginning to fail.
"They will determine whether giving the patients large numbers of their own adult stem cells will lower blood sugar, increase secretion of insulin from the pancreas and improve the function of the kidney."
An estimated 2.2 million people in the UK have diabetes, and the numbers are growing.
Of this total, around 250,000 have insulin-dependent, or Type 1 diabetes.
The rest have Type 2 diabetes, which is closely associated with obesity.
Dr Angela Wilson, research director at Diabetes UK, said: "This is interesting work in an exciting area of diabetes research.
"Theoretically, pancreatic beta cells produced from a patient's own bone marrow could be used to treat diabetes, overcoming the requirement for immunosuppression following islet transplantation.
"However, a way to prevent transplanted cells from being destroyed by the body is needed as this is why Type 1 diabetes develops in the first place."
"this is not the crux the of the matter at all"
Yes it is... The money to be made is through drugs. In order to market a drug, you must be able to mass produce it. You cant do that if the treatment has to be customized for each patient.
Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
God bless your son. A very wise young man.
Thank You
Adult stem cells come from you. No rejection problems, no drugs, no break down. They actually are a cure rather then a patch that gives you a small extension but with major drawbacks.
Yes, there are times when the control is not there, and you just don't understand it, despite everything you've done...hormones & growth spurts seemed to cover it!
You are so right about the worry part. And I'm glad you've learned that lesson!
Wow, I remember the very instant I realised that either I was going to put aside all the worries and obsessing about this, that, and the other thing, or I was going to go crazy. AND how would THAT benefit my dear son?
It was a lesson which applies to so much in life, too. Let go, and let God take the burden.
Our son enjoyed summer camp for a few years too.
We all learned to balance his needs with the whole of our lives, together as a family and individually.
We learned perspective, commonsense, trust and so much else. Definitely the "lemon/lemonade" lesson.
Somewhere along the way, you realize you've raised a child who happens to have diabetes, not necessarily a diabetic child...
Thanks for your comments! Take care, and all the best to you, him, and the rest of your family.
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In the traditional pharmacological sectors and markets this is true, but you are describing stem cell therapies that are NOT based on traditonal paradigms. Nor are they limited to current mass market paradigms. Growing new organs for patients from totopotent cells THEY posses would not be "mass market" viable either. Yet this emerging industry and technique is coming. You seem to be starting your hypothesis on a flawed premise and making several erroneous assumptions.
Hope or hype? Which is it? Con job?
My 15 yo son was dxed at age 2 1/2. He just completed his Eagle project a few weeks ago.
The above also brings up another question (in my mind): since these cells come from the actual patient (rather than donor) will success improve the current 1 in 7 figure? Will the genetically identical 'own body' cells suppress or be ignored by the autoimmune response (note: medical folks believe something triggers the response, but they are not certain what that may be)?
I really don't see this as a sham study but a good one. Time will tell.
Your heartfelt statements of support to one another are wonderful. Yet another reason why FR is such a great place to come to.
It turns out we have other autoimmune diseases in the family. (thyroid, Addison's, alopicia) Looking into all that, I found this:
http://autoimmunedisease.suite101.com/blog.cfm/1534
Here's one small part of the article that you may find interesting:
"However, patients with diabetes who begin to experience unstable or poorly controlled glucose levels should be tested for both adrenal and thyroid antibodies. Patients with APS2 often develop other autoimmune conditions although these disorders are less likely to occur in APS2 compared to APS1. These disorders include vitiligo, myasthenia gravis, thrombocytopenic purpura, Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, alopecia, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, pernicious anemia, atrophic gastritis, hypophysitis, and primary antiphospholipid syndrome."
I'm taking my son in at the end of the month to make sure the rest of his endocrine system isn't messing up his blood sugar.
He's 13 and puberty isn't helping his situation!!
One more thing! As a parent to a parent I have to ask you one thing; how do you sleep? I've got myself on a 2-10AM sleep schedule to make sure he's stable through the night. He gets himself off to school in the morning and can pretty much take care of himself during the day. Other parents keep reassuring me that he'll wake up naturally if he's low, but three nights ago I found him wandering in the kitchen, eating a pickle. He was like a sleep walker. I tested him and he was 43. He was in *no* condition to make a decision, or even realize he was low. I know I can't trust his brain to function when he's like that.
I know that many parents of diabetic children are single or work. I can't imagine how they deal with the nights.
Actually, encapsulated Islets take care of that problem. But then you wouldn't need to bother with developing Islets from the patient's own stem cells. Xenotransplantation would be cheaper and more readily available.
"As a parent to a parent I have to ask you one thing; how do you sleep?"
Zach is homeschooled so we don't have a strick schedule. Most of the time he's in bed by 11:00 but usually reads or does some schoolwork for a while. We try to get him up between 7:30 and 8:00.
My wife hits the sack around 10:00. I'm usually "uptoolate" till around 1:00 or 2:00. We both make sure Zach checks his blood sugar. He's on the pump so with that reading of 27 the other night we thought it best to cut back on his Basil rate. Rather have him a little high than too low. This was the first time he's ever been that low during the night. Although he did sleep in 'till 10:30. That's 2 1/2 hours of inactivity while his pump is programmed to give him a higher dose of insulin because he is usually active.
It is all trial and error. What works this year may not work the same next year due to changing body chemistry.
When it is all said and done, the last thing I do before closing my eyes is pray for him and us and just leave him in God's hands. Zach is God's child. I'm only watching him 'till Jesus says the mansion is ready for occupancy.
I'm surprised you don't see this...
I am a microbiologist and I am afraid I see alternative business models and revenue streams proposed, for future treatment regimes and protocols you are apparently unaware of. revenue models are not dependent on generic protocol. Many existing models exist in areas of medicine that disagree with your opinion.
"I am a microbiologist and I am afraid I see alternative business models and revenue streams proposed, for future treatment regimes and protocols you are apparently unaware of"
So... What business models and revenue stream would make fetal stem cells a better choice than adult cells? Why the push for fetal?
Hey, he's got it! Praise The LORD!!!
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