TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES WITH STEM CELL THERAPY: A NEWER SCIENTIFIC APPRAOCH

Abstract

Diabetes is usually a lifelong (chronic) disease in which there are high levels of sugar in the blood. Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination); they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia). Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas helps in the control of blood sugar. While Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin or both, its treatment becomes mandatory for patients as a large part of the Indian population is gradually being detected with high blood sugar. Stem cells are mother cells that have the potential to become any type of cell in the body. One of the main characteristics of stem cells is their ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to develop into other types of cells. Stem cells can become cells of the blood, heart, bones, skin, muscles, brain etc. Within recent years, stem cell research has become a very important part of the scientific understanding of type 1 diabetes. Research has demonstrated that stem cells can be grown in the lab. In 2004, the University of Pittsburgh grew insulin producing beta cells by introducing two genes ‘cdk’ and ‘cyclin d’ via a virus. The researchers were able to deactivate the virus and also prevent stem cells from growing further. The research could lead to a better availability of beta cells for future research purposes. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes results when beta cells in the pancreas fail to produce enough insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. One approach to treating diabetes is to stimulate regeneration of new beta cells. The current short communication elucidate about probable treatment of diabetes with the help of stem cell therapy.

KEY-WORDS: Diabetes, Stem cells, Beta cells, Insulin.