A Stem-Cell Discovery Could Help Diabetics

Time ^ | Sep. 02, 2009 | Alice Park

[neverdem]

Researchers are inching ever closer to bringing the latest stem-cell technologies from bench to bedside — and are, in the process, learning more about some diseases that long have remained medical black boxes.

This week, scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) reported the first success in generating new populations of insulin-producing cells using skin cells of Type 1 diabetes patients. The achievement involved the newer embryo-free technique for generating stem cells, and marked the first step toward building a treatment that could one day replace a patient's faulty insulin-making cells with healthy, functioning ones. (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2008.)

The experiment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also provided the first good model — in a petri dish — of how Type 1 diabetes develops, giving scientists a peek at what goes wrong in patients affected by the disease. Such knowledge could lead to not only new stem-cell-based treatments, but also novel drug therapies that might improve the symptoms of the disease. (Read "Study: Stem Cells May Reverse Type 1 Diabetes.")

Douglas Melton, co-director of HSCI, and his team took skin cells from two Type 1 diabetes patients, exposed the cells to a cocktail of three genes that converted them back to an embryonic state — which are referred to as pluripotent stem cells — then instructed the newly reborn cells to grow into beta cells, the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin.

--snip--

In Type 1 diabetes, these beta cells no longer work to break down the glucose that floods the body after each meal, leading to blood-sugar spikes that can damage the kidneys and heart.

[neverdem]

Insulin the major fuel-regulating hormone of the body, formed from proinsulin in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin promotes the storage of glucose and the uptake of amino acids, increases protein and lipid synthesis, and inhibits fat breakdown and gluconeogenesis. Secretion of insulin is a response of the beta cells to a stimulus; the primary stimulus is the presence of glucose, and others are amino acids and certain hormones. After insulin is released from the beta cells, it enters the bloodstream and is transported to cells throughout the body. The cell membranes have insulin receptors to which the hormone becomes bonded or “fixed.” An interaction between the insulin and its receptors leads to biochemical processes that include: transport of glucose, amino acids, and certain ions into the cell body; storage of glycogen in liver and muscle cells; synthesis of triglyceridesand storage of fat; synthesis of protein, RNA, and DNA; and inhibition of gluconeogenesis, and breakdown of glycogen, protein, and fats. a preparation of the hormone used in treatment of diabetes mellitus; it may be prepared from the pancreas of an animal, be created by recombinant technology, or be an insuline analogue that has a small chemical alteration.

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Generation of pluripotent stem cells from patients with type 1 diabetes

Generation of pluripotent stem cells from patients with type 1 diabetes Full Text (PDF)

[Alex Murphy]

Ping to read later

[True Republican Patriot]

Gosh! Embroyo-FREE! Another development among Millins that doesn’t use Embryonic Stem Cells!!OBOZO will ban that development post-haste!

[darkwing104]

Adult stem cells good news.

[bmwcyle]

ping

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes or stem cell ping lists. See comment# 1.

[netmilsmom]

I predict that one day society will look back in horror at the time our generation cannibalized it’s embryos for stemcells.

[dalebert]

what happened to all the fantastic cures from embryo stem cell research....Nada...nothing.....zip

[sissyjane]

Thank you for the ping.

[sissyjane]

Thank you for the ping.

[sissyjane]

oops.

[denydenydeny]

his team took skin cells from two Type 1 diabetes patients, exposed the cells to a cocktail of three genes that converted them back to an embryonic state

Sadly, most people reading this sentence would probably interpret it as a proof that embryonic stem cells actually work. Of course, Time helps by never mentioning the term "adult stem cells" anywhere in a story about adult stem cells.

Another fundamentally dishonest article from the MSM.

[lysie]

Ping!

[Eagles6]

Disclaimer: No babies were killed in the production of this experiment.

[FReepaholic]

Here's a different breakthrough reported today:

A gene that controls the way the body responds to the hormone insulin has been identified, marking a breakthrough in the fight against diabetes

[tajgirvan]

Adult stem cells always did have more promise than embryonic cells, but the libtards wanted to rush to judgement on that also!

Urgent: saltnlemons post!!!!

[SuziQ]

The achievement involved the newer embryo-free technique for generating stem cells, and marked the first step toward building a treatment that could one day replace a patient's faulty insulin-making cells with healthy, functioning ones.

Outstanding!

[kruss3]

Insulin resistance is NOT ordinarily the product of a genetic malformation. Even NOD rat pups (that are genetically configured to become diabetic) do not become diabetic when treated with vitamin d3. Insuin resistance can be caused by a combination of environmental influences: phospholipid imbalances in the membranes of cells and shortages of chromium that ordinarily amplifies the effects of insulin signalling transduction activity. Looking for genetic based pathways is a horrible misdirection of vital research dollars.

[Fred Hayek]

what happened to all the fantastic cures from embryo stem cell research....

Which is the reason we must keep trying over and over again - like we must keep trying Communism over and over again, never mind it killing 100 miiiion people (but gotta break eggs to make an omelet)./s

Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

[Fred Hayek]

But this must not be allowed:

1. No embryonic stem cells involved.
2. Goes against eugenics czar Zeke Emmanuel’s recommendation - sick people have a duty to die.