Potential Cure for Diabetes?

The medical world is announcing new therapies and treatments almost daily. There is new hope for people who suffer from Type 1 Diabetes. Scientists have transplanted insulin-producing islet cells from a donor pancreas into Type1 patients' livers, and they began to produce insulin. Many people experienced a drop in their need for insulin, some dropped to zero.

Mike Wilson, the chief executive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Australia, said the treatment effectively reversed diabetes.

"This is an incredibly exciting step forward for both the type 1 diabetes community and for the world-class Australian researchers who are rapidly advancing in this area," he said.

However, low organ donation rates will limit the number of islet transplants and prevent a widespread cure unless there is another way to product, find, and cells. Fewer than 90 pancreases are available a year in Australia but newly diagnosed, type 1 diabetes exceeds 2000 people. About 200 patients worldwide have been treated, with 80 per cent of them not needing insulin 12 months later.

Xenotransplantation, where animal cells are transplanted into humans, is being investigated.

Scientists in the United States are turning stem cells into insulin producers that responded to blood glucose levels.

Despite the controversy over different methods, the hope for a cure is on the horizon.