Source: JAMA and Archives Journals
Date: April 10, 2007
Summary:
A therapy that includes stem cell transplantation induced extended insulin independence in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), according to a preliminary study in the April 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers at the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in collaboration with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago conducted a study to examine the effect of high-dose immunosuppression followed by transplanting a patient's own hematopoietic (bone marrow) stem cells to preserve function of pancreatic beta-cells in 15 newly diagnosed patients with type 1 DM. During a long-term follow-up, 14 patients became insulin-free (one for 35 months, four for at least 21 months, seven for at least six months; and two with late response were insulin-free for one and five months, respectively). Further follow-up is necessary to confirm the duration of insulin independence and the mechanisms of action of the procedure.
