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April 12, 2007

Stem Cell Treatment for Diabetes

No, it hasn't been rigorously tested, but adult stem cells are reportedly being used in Brazil to treat diabetes:

Thirteen young diabetics in Brazil have ditched their insulin shots and need no other medication thanks to a risky, but promising treatment with their own stem cells - apparently the first time such a feat has been accomplished.

Though too early to call it a cure, the procedure has enabled the young people, who have Type I diabetes, to live insulin-free so far, some as long as three years. The treatment involves stem cell transplants from the patients' own blood.

"It's the first time in the history of Type 1 diabetes where people have gone with no treatment whatsoever ... no medications at all, with normal blood sugars," said study co-author Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University's medical school in Chicago.

Note that the study is small and treatment was applied to young persons with Type I.

The research was done in Brazil because U.S. doctors were not interested in the approach.

Posted by Diabetologica at April 12, 2007 10:12 AM