The start of a possible diabetes cure? - Diabetics Weekly

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The start of a possible diabetes cure?

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January 6, 2017

The start of a possible diabetes cure?

Pluripotent cells are define as cells that are capable of turning into any other cell type, for example a liver cell, skin cell, etc.

Why is this relevant? Researchers turned pluripotent stem cells into functional pancreatic beta cells. When these cells were transplanted into diabetic mice, the animals were cleared of the disease.

In simple terms, diabetes is the loss of function of beta cells. They either die (type 1 diabetes) or they are not efficient (type 2 diabetes). In both cases, it leads to lack of insulin that in turn causes an increase of blood glucose.

The process still has to be tested on humans, but the results are something to be excited about because diabetes is characterized bye the loss of function of beta cells. In transplanting new, healthy beta cells, we’ll be actually looking at a cure rather than a treatment.

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One injection that can eliminate diabetes

A recent discovery has been made by scientist that has the potential to better treatments for diabetes in the future. Scientists from the University of Washington found that a protein administered into the brains of rodents with type 2 diabetes, clears the animals from the disease for several months. The scientists explored the antidiabetic efficacy of Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 (FGF1), a protein known to reduce blood sugar levels in mice. Even though the FGF1 was previously shown to restore blood glucose levels for a couple of days, the same hormone injected into the brains extended the remission to 17 weeks. The researchers called it "sustained remission". FGF1 extended remission by 17 weeks. The scientists chose this route because the receptors of FGF1 are highest in the brain. They think that diabetes is a dysfunction of the neural circuits in the brain, and FGF1 is working with these circuits to improve the dysfunction. They were expecting the results to 48 to 72 hours, but were very surprised to find that FGH1 cleared diabetes for several months. When the mice were injected, the scientists observed an increase in protective proteins in the brain as well as stronger connections in the hypothalamus, which helps regulate appetite. This led to normalized blood sugar levels. This is not quite a cure for type 2 diabetes, but it is definitely an improvement on research with FGF1 and a step forward in diabetes treatment.