Stem Cells The Next Frontiers in the field of Regenerative Medicine
Diabetes is a type of devastating disorder,
currently affecting millions of people around the world. The disease can
primarily be categorized into type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes. The former one
has primarily associated with the
destruction of insulin-producing beta
cells. The later form of diabetes, most commonly being identified to be as type
2-diabetes is generally characterized with the acquisition of insulin
resistance; a condition is often associated with reduced secretion of insulin,
further leading to the progressive decline in the functional attributes of beta
cells. Accordingly, researchers are actively looking forward to developing a novel therapeutic solution that
can be helpful in reducing the insulin dependency of the patients; if not
completely at least the progression can be stopped to the great extent.
However, there has been a very little awareness
about how cell replacement therapy is important in producing enough number of
beta cells and minimizing insulin resistance; and hence, the current write-up
focuses completely on stem cells, which are the novel potential sources of
regenerating as well as replacing.
Can
diabetes be a critical health issue for the year 2021?
According to the International Diabetes
Foundation, diabetes has currently been referred to be as the 7th
most devastating diseases, with nearly 250 million people suffering from the same across the globe. With the same
speed of progression, the disease prevalence is expected to rise at a speed of
50 million people per year, due to more number of the aging population. The statistical evidence
has confirmed that more percentage of
people is found to be affected with the help of diabetes, in areas like Asia, South America, etc. The data was confined and further
presented through the National Diabetes Fact sheet; which particularly
expressed almost around 54 million cells to be pre-diabetic in nature. This
silent killer has been reported to be significantly affecting the lives of many people due to progressive
destruction of other vital organs of the body, like kidneys, heart, and eyes.
In this regard, a novel treatment that has recently started reaching the
horizon is identified to be stem cell therapy for diabetes, which is primarily
involved in regenerating new beta cells to replace those that are functionally
impotent.
What
are the less common treatments available for diabetes?
With the increasing trends and advancements in
the technology, the world is getting attracted towards some of the newer
treatment approaches that are not really very common, like Bariatric surgery,
artificial pancreas, transplantation of pancreatic islets cells, etc. However,
one such treatment is getting more and more acknowledgment
in terms of faster recovery, cost-effectiveness
and better treatment outcome in the context of safety as well as feasibility;
and that is known as stem cells therapy for diabetes.
Stem cells are identified to be as the naive
cells of the body, with the ability to be differentiated into different cells
of multiple tissue origin. These cells can either be isolated from patient’s
own body or can be extracted from one of the richest sources, the umbilical
cord tissue to be infused directly into the pancreas and allowed to differentiate
directly into pancreatic beta cells. These stem cells being anti-inflammatory
in nature can regulate the inflammatory responses and prevent further
destruction of the body’s own cells.
Thus, a person with diabetes mellitus can be
reversed with the help of stem cell therapy; however, should be chosen as the
first choice of treatment is safe as well
as feasible in nature. As a matter of fact, it should also be understood that
along with stem cell therapy,
some rehabilitative strategies should necessarily be implemented like good
diet, regular exercise and regular medical checkups.
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