Using Stem Cells to Fight Diabetes

 Harvard University may have taken a giant step in the fight against diabetes. Their researches claim they have created a way to change stem cells so that diabetics could produce their own insulin.

Harvard researchers are using stem cells—cells that have the potential to change into many types of cells—to produce insulin producing beta cells. The manipulated stem cells were input into diabetic mice. The cells functioned like normal healthy cells and regulated blood sugar so well the mice did not need insulin injections. Human tests are several years away, but the mice that were experimented showed promising results.

This research is important because insulin-producing cells are better at regulating blood sugar than an injection. Therefore, the risk of serious complications that accompany diabetes would be reduced.

Lapook, Jonathan (2014, December 17) Could diabetics produce their own insulin?, CBS NEWS. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/possible-breakthrough-in-treating-type-1-diabetes/