A 25-year-old woman's type 1 diabetes has been successfully reversed thanks to science.
Researchers from Tianjin First Central Hospital and Peking University in China used innovative stem cell therapy to reprogram the woman's own cells and turn them into insulin-producing cells.
The results of the study were published in the journal Cell.
The process involved reprogramming tissue cells from the patient’s own body into insulin-producing islet cells and then injecting them between her skin and abdominal muscles. Because the cells were taken from the patient, there were no rejection risks and immunosuppressive medication was not required.
The National Institute of Cancer defined islet cells as pancreatic cells that produce insulin and glucagon hormones and secrete them into the bloodstream. These hormones help control blood sugar levels.
The procedure allowed the patient, who had battled the disease for 11 years, to produce sufficient insulin independently. Her need for external insulin declined and within 75 days of surgery, was completely eliminated.
Before the procedure, she only produced insulin to reach her glycemic range 43.18% of the time. However, 4 months after the surgery, this increased to 96.2%, Medical News Today noted.
The groundbreaking medical discovery makes the patient the first person in the world with type 1 diabetes to be treated using cells from her own body.
The scientists hope this discovery could open doors for more type 1 diabetes patients to be treated.
About 38.4 million people or 11.6% of the US population have diabetes, 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. Over 304,000 younger than 20 years old have type 1 diabetes, while 1.7 million American adults reported having the disease and use insulin.
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