Stem Cells: The Building Blocks of Life

Type 1 Diabetes

 

     A patient with type 1 diabetes lacks the beta cells that produce insulin, which is a hormone that metabolizes sugars and starches. In 2014, researcher Douglas Melton of Harvard University and his colleagues created functioning beta cells using human iPSCs. In the prescence of glucose, the beta cells responded properly by producing insulin. Currently, the beta cells are being tested in animals. Researchers now face the challenge of preventing the transplant beta cells from being attacked by the immune system. Until they overcome that problem, the therapy cannot be effectively used in humans. In consecutive years, this therapy can profoundly change the lives of numerous diabetic patients!