Type 1 diabetes reversed in Chinese woman using reprogrammed stem cells
www.scmp.com
25-year-old with chronic condition for over a decade has no need for external insulin some 2½ months from minimally invasive surgery.

Scientists extracted fat cells from the patient, turned them into stem cells (induced pluripotent stem cells), then back into pancreatic islet cells now able to produce insulin. These functioning islet cells were then simply injected into the patient’s abdominal muscles. Injection into the abdominal wall minimized invasiveness and avoided inflammation compared to previous practices of injection into the liver. The entire injection procedure took less than half an hour.

Because the cells are from the patient’s own body, they don’t need a compatible donor and experience no immune rejection to the transplant.

Afterwards, the patient’s blood sugar levels became normal and they no longer needed external insulin.

Here’s the research paper link: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(24)01022-5

  • Pili
    31·
    30 days ago

    A few months ago, when Chinese doctors cured a patient’s type 2 diabetes, someone commented that the real breakthrough will be when they are able to cure the much more complexe type 1.

    I didn’t expect China to deliver that fast lmao they are incredible.

    • Comprehensive49OPM
      14·
      29 days ago

      The paper for the previous Type 2 cure is here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-024-00662-3

      Interestingly, there are no authors in common between the two papers, indicating that this is a broadly supported area of research in China, not just one research group. Both papers use a very similar method, creating new islet cells from the patient’s own cells. The most significant difference seems to be injection site. The previous paper injected into the liver, as is conventionally done, while this latest paper injected into the abdominal muscles, which is much less invasive and easier to monitor.

      From this research, one day diabetes patients may be able to get their blood drawn, wait a few weeks, then get an injection of islet cells made from their own cells to get cured. A simple two-step process for the patient.

      • commiespammer
        4·
        28 days ago

        When I was in a hospital in China I distinctly remember seeing stuff about diabetes cures developments. Being so used to American development speeds, I didn’t expect a result so quickly!

      • GlueBear [they/them]
        1·
        28 days ago

        How does China do it? I know they have centralized system for this stuff, but how specifically do they just make these scientific breakthroughs in all STEM fields so fast?

        • Sodium_nitride
          5·
          28 days ago

          The Chinese government goes through painstaking lengths to cultivate an entire supply chain of everything, from the production of raw materials, cheap mass manufacturing, high end tech, STEM graduates, scientific instruments and every industrial product under the sun (Literally, they are the only country in human history to produce every category of industrial product).

          They also go through great lengths to automate and standardise production and research, to grow promising industries ans culling obsolete ones.

          This gives Chinese industry and researchers a huge advtange, since anything they need to do their activities is easily and quickly available. You would be surprised at how much time and effort is wasted in academia maneuvering around this or that material limitation.

    • CriticalResist8A
      5·
      29 days ago

      Dang I thought this was a repost of the same story I read a few months ago!

    • redtea
      6·
      29 days ago

      Rising share prices of sugar companies.

      No not like that

    • Addfwyn
      3·
      29 days ago

      Those poor pharma companies will suffer without being able to sell insulin. Considering three companies make almost all the insulin in the world, if you undercut that their CEOs may not even be able to get the latest model of yacht next year. Then the yacht companies will go under too!

      It will be an absolute cascading catastrophe obviously. Therefore it is critically important they are able to sell insulin at several hundred dollars per vial!

  • amber (she/her)
    7·
    29 days ago

    So I went looking for more details on this story, and it seems like there is a bit of a catch here in that the patient here was (is?) taking immunosuppressants for the liver transplant mentioned in the SCMP article. (Source: https://archive.ph/4kUXJ) Of course, this is still great news and a major victory! The results of this treatment are incredible and very exciting for the future. The two other participants in this trial apparently also have had very positive results, and are approaching a year of being insulin injection free themselves. The SCMP story mentions that she had already undergone an unsuccessful pancreatic islet cell transplant, so hopefully the success of this treatment is a sign of great things to come.

    By the way, does anyone know of a mirror for this research paper? I was hoping to give it a read, but it’s locked behind a paywall.