Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
A groundbreaking stem cell transplant has successfully reversed type 1 diabetes in a 25-year-old woman from Tianjin, China, marking the first time a patient with the condition has achieved sustained insulin independence.
The procedure, which involved using reprogrammed stem cells derived from the patient’s own body, allowed her to start producing insulin within three months of the transplant.
Researchers at Peking University in Beijing led the trial, where stem cells were reverted to a pluripotent state, meaning they could develop into any cell type.
According to the research paper, published on Cell, these chemically induced pluripotent stem cells (CiPSCs) were then transformed into insulin-producing islets and transplanted into the patient’s abdominal muscles, a novel approach that led to successful engraftment and allowed for easier monitoring of the cells’ progress.
Following the trial, “exogenous insulin-independent glycaemic control was restored in the patient”, the study wrote.
In other words, the woman, who had previously relied on significant amounts of insulin, has now been living without the need for insulin injections for over a year.
Her glucose levels now stay within a healthy range for over 98 percent of the day, according to the one-year follow-up of the trial, which met all safety and efficacy endpoints.
“I can eat sugar now,” she told Nature, expressing relief at no longer needing to manage dangerous fluctuations in her blood sugar levels.
This trial follows another recent success in Shanghai, where researchers treated a man with type 2 diabetes using a similar technique, Nature said.
According to the journal, both studies offer hope to millions affected by diabetes, particularly type 1, which occurs when the body’s immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
The procedure, however, faces challenges in scalability and long-term outcomes. Experts like Jay Skyler, an endocrinologist from the University of Miami, stress the need for further trials and longer follow-ups to ensure the insulin production can be sustained for years, according to Nature.
Despite these challenges, lead researcher Deng Hongkui described the results as promising, writing in the paper that further clinical studies assessing CiPSC-islet transplantation in type 1 diabetes are warranted.
