Source: NewScientist.com news service
Posted: 10 April 2007 21:00 GMT
Summary:
Diabetics appear to have been cured with a one-off treatment that rebuilds their immune system, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 297, p 1568). The technique, which uses patients' own bone marrow cells, has freed 14 of 15 patients with type 1 diabetes from their dependence on insulin medication. So far, participants in the trial have gone 18 months without insulin therapy following the procedure, on average. One patient has lasted three years without needing such injections.
