A new clinical trial is testing the feasibility of using stem cells to treat Type 1 diabetes. Researchers suggest the treatment could potentially eliminate blood glucose monitoring and insulin injections. This promising stem cell research project was recently featured in Fortune magazine.

The upcoming clinical trial, to be carried out by ViaCyte Inc and Janssen Biotech Inc, was announced last Thursday. The procedure being tested is a stem cell capsule treatment. A capsule containing insulin-producing cells derived from embryonic stem cells is implanted under the skin of a patient.

There are a number of advantages to this new stem cell capsule treatment, including the slow and reliable release of insulin-producing cells into the system over time. If this clinical trial is a success, the treatment will be available within a few years. Scientists will also look at making a similar stem cell capsule treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

The implanted capsule acts like the human pancreas — producing the insulin needed by diabetes sufferers.

The president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Derek Rapp, was quoted by ViaCyte in a press statement as saying this treatment could make a difference in the quality of treatment for diabetes patients. It will make managing their illness much simpler and help avoid accidents involving insulin medication.

Mr Rapp also said in the statement: “JDRF has been a long time, proud supporter of the work that ViaCyte is doing to transform the way we treat Type 1 diabetes. The recent clinical data, while preliminary, are encouraging and move us closer to our goal of a world without Type 1 diabetes.”

This innovative stem cell capsule treatment could be replicated to treat a number of other chronic diseases into the future, which is very exciting for researchers.

Source: Stem Cell Capsule Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes in Trials

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