Replacing what was lost: A novel cell therapy for type I diabetes mellitus

[Northerner]

Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder leading to permanent loss of insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas. In a new study, researchers from The University of Tokyo developed a novel device for the long-term transplantation of iPSC-derived human pancreatic beta-cells.

T1D develops when autoimmune antibodies destroy pancreatic beta-cells that are responsible for the production of insulin. Insulin regulates blood glucose levels, and in the absence of it high levels of blood glucose slowly damage the kidneys, eyes and peripheral nerves. Because the body loses the ability to produce insulin over time, the current mainstay of treatment for T1D is to inject insulin. An exciting research endeavor over the past decade has been to find ways to replace lost beta-cells by means of cell therapy.

"Cell therapy is an exciting, but challenging, approach to treat type I diabetes mellitus," says lead author of the study Professor Shoji Takeuchi. "The challenge arises from the difficulty to make large amounts of human beta-cells in a dish, and more importantly, to achieve safe and effective transplantation. In this study, we wanted to develop a novel construct that enables successful transplantation of beta-cells in the long-term."

Replacing what was lost: A novel cell therapy for type I diabetes mellitus

Researchers have developed a novel device for the safe and effective transplantation of human pancreatic beta-cells in type I diabetes mellitus (T1D). By constructing a millimeter-thick graft encapsulating beta-cells and transplanting it in diabetic mice, they were able to show that the device...

www.sciencedaily.com

 

[mikeyB]

It would have helped if they could have demonstrated what lotus root (which is actually the stem) looks like. Sliced, it's like a cartwheel with thickened spokes and rim, thus giving a large surface area. It's used commonly in Chinese cooking, which I'm doing a lot of at the moment for a change of the boring usual, and it's healthy. If you want to try it, it comes in tins from any Chinese supermarket, and good old Amazon. Dried Lotus leaves are also used, but less often, probably because it's boring and expensive. I do balk at some of the ingredients on offer at Wai Yee Hong online oriental supermarket - dried jellyfish, for one. Don't reckon there's much nutrition in a jellyfish.

Apart from that, it looks promising if they can drag themselves away from fiddling with the poor bloody mice.

 

[Inka]

I’m half excited, half cynical that, like all the other islet cell bio devices, we’ll never hear about it again. Where’s the one with the protective coating made from seashells or whatever it was? Where’s the one that used lung cells or similar to provide oxygen for the islets? What happened to the cure using the TB vaccination? All disappeared into the ether never to be seen or heard of again.

 

[Northerner]

I’m half excited, half cynical that, like all the other islet cell bio devices, we’ll never hear about it again. Where’s the one with the protective coating made from seashells or whatever it was? Where’s the one that used lung cells or similar to provide oxygen for the islets? What happened to the cure using the TB vaccination? All disappeared into the ether never to be seen or heard of again.

You're thinking of Pig Sushi (Written in November 2010! 😱 )




Just when I think I have heard the most bizarre research being conducted into finding a cure for diabetes, along comes another, even more extraordinary notion! Pig sushi definitely makes it into my top ten potential cures! Apparently, according to this New Scientist article, scientists have been exploring the potential of using porcine islet cells coated in a seaweed-derived extract to transplant into humans. The pig cells used are taken from a special breed of pig which lives only on Auckland Island south of New Zealand, which has been isolated for over two centuries and is free from any organism likely to infect humans. The seaweed helps to overcome the possibility of the cells being rejected by the host body.

I await with wonder and eagerness the ‘cure’ that will trump Pig Sushi on my all-time list of diabetes cures!

Waiter, excuse me, but what’s this dish here?
It sounds quite revolting and decidedly queer!
For I always thought sushi was made out of fish,
But what you are offering is a quite different dish!

Ah yes sir, pig sushi – a specialty of ours,
And a dish that’s possessed of some magical powers!
It’s pork wrapped in seaweed from the Sargasso Sea,
And it cures diabetes (though there are no guarantees!)

But why so expensive for seaweed and pork?
Is it served with champagne and a solid gold fork?
Do they fly pigs from China on a business class fare?
Do they pluck strands of seaweed from a fair mermaid’s hair?

Not quite sir, but almost, for the pigs that we seek,
Live south of New Zealand in a herd that’s unique…
Some say they are tended by mystical elves,
And they don’t need a plane as they fly here themselves!

Well it sounds like a meal that is fit for a king!
Whoever could imagine such a remarkable thing?
Bring it at once! I can’t wait to be cured!
And there’ll be a large tip, of that be assured!

 

[Inka]

Haha @Northerner Flying elf pigs! That’s the most poetic of all the ‘cures’!

 

[mikeyB]

Well I, for one, think that this is the most promising idea I’ve seen. No need to ridicule it.

It’s not meant to be a cure, It’ll need changing twice a year probably.