Research Advances Potential For Regeneration As A Possible Cure For Type 1 Diabetes

A hormone responsible for the body’s stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, according to JDRF- funded researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes.

“Being able to stimulate beta cells to divide a little faster may be part of a solution that may ultimately, hopefully, allow management of type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Vale says. “But because it is an autoimmune condition, making the cells divide won’t be enough. That is why researchers are working hard to solve the problem of destruction of beta cells.”

The study showed that the stress hormone could increase the rate at which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas expand in animal models.

In addition to regenerating or replacing insulin producing cells, a cure for type 1 diabetes will also involve stopping the autoimmune attack that causes diabetes, and reestablishing excellent glucose control. (There was separate recent progress in making an articifial pancreas that provided better glucose control)

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The number of people who suffer from diabetes is growing. The CDC (Centers or Disease Control and Prevention) states that 23.6 million Americans had diabetes in 2007, with more cases every year.