We're another step closer to reducing the need for round-the-clock insulin injections to manage diabetes after a new study showed how insulin-producing cells could be regenerated in the pancreas.
This is cool, but seems to only be half the solution. Other ways to regenerate beta cells have already been found. The problem is the antibodies that cause the diabetes (Type 1) in the first place will just kill these new cells. Without immunosuppressive drugs, my understanding is that it will be “days” before the cells are dead. With immunosuppressive drugs, you might get weeks, but you’ll also be sick all the time due to the drugs. That’s why these approaches have not been seen as viable so far. At least not by themselves.
Case in point, I recently read about another approach that focuses on implanting beta cells within a protective sponge that let’s the insulin out while keeping the antibodies away.
This is cool, but seems to only be half the solution. Other ways to regenerate beta cells have already been found. The problem is the antibodies that cause the diabetes (Type 1) in the first place will just kill these new cells. Without immunosuppressive drugs, my understanding is that it will be “days” before the cells are dead. With immunosuppressive drugs, you might get weeks, but you’ll also be sick all the time due to the drugs. That’s why these approaches have not been seen as viable so far. At least not by themselves.
Case in point, I recently read about another approach that focuses on implanting beta cells within a protective sponge that let’s the insulin out while keeping the antibodies away.