The face of Diabetes Treatment changing with introduction of Stem Cell Therapy
With the efforts
of scientists we have experienced many scientific breakthroughs, and the
discovery of stem cells and its potential of curing degenerative diseases is
one such great breakthrough for human race. Scientists have been working hard
to understand the main reason behind diabetes, so that they can come up with an
effective Diabetes Treatment.
However, the
only available treatment options for diabetic patients are able to control the
symptoms and effects of the disease, but cannot reverse or cure the disease
fully. Due to the complicated genetics of diabetes, especially type-1, it is
hard to develop a complete Diabetes
Treatment.
In the last ten
years stem cell biology has developed drastically and these developments have
opened up new avenues of studying the potential and biology of stem cells. Scientists
are working towards the use of tissue engineering techniques to reprogram skin
cells from a specific patient and change it to cells that are similar to
embryonic cells. Such cells are known as iPS cells, i.e. induced pluripotent
cells. These stem cells can create any kind of cell in human body, and these
are also identical to original patient as far as genetics is concerned.
Some of the main
factors that are considered while administering Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes Treatment include:
·
Proliferation and regeneration
capacity of stem cells
·
Capacity to differentiate in
controlled lab conditions
·
Whether the cells are able to
survive in the body of the recipient
·
Whether the cells are
integrated in the area of cells or tissues targeted
·
Ability and role of stem cells
in reinstating normal functioning
Researchers are
also working on another theory for creating an effective Diabetes Treatment option. This includes replacement of damaged
cells with fresh pancreatic beta stem cells. The main function of such cells is
to store as well as secrete insulin, which helps in keeping blood sugar level
under control.
The beta cells
are made from stem cells that have been extracted from patients who have normal
blood sugar level. In the entire process of administering such Diabetes Treatment,
one needs to take care of formation of tumors. This has been the major problem
of Stem Cell Therapy in treatment of
diabetes. Some of the recent experiments have proved that beta cells can be
created from tissue of diabetes patients with type-1 diabetes, and there are
chances that this method can work for other forms of diabetes as well.
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