General

The body has learned to treat diabetes itself, but there is one problem.

People with diabetes are forced to abidestrict diet and regular injections of insulin, which reduces the amount of glucose in the blood. Researchers at the University of Washington found a simpler and more long-term way to control glucose - they made stem cells turn into beta cells that produce insulin on their own, naturally. It sounds promising, because people can at least temporarily forget about the need for injections or even cure, but the new technology can cause other problems.

Scientists already know the method of converting skin cells.in the so-called induced stem cells IPS, which can take the form of any other cell in the body. Researchers managed to turn them into beta cells, but they worked, as scientists put it, like fire hydrants - either produced too much insulin, or did not do it at all.

Study author Jeffrey Millman announced thatthey finally managed to find a recipe that creates cells with optimal insulin production. The effectiveness of the new cells was tested on diabetic mice - they could not produce insulin on their own, but the cells introduced could provide them with such a quantity of substance that greatly improved their condition. Most importantly, production lasted for several months in a row, so the mice did not need shots. It was also noticed that the created beta cells in organisms with diabetes acted more actively than similar cells in the body of healthy people.

It would seem that such technology is urgently needed.apply on people and make their lives easier, but it is too dangerous. The fact is that for the introduction of new cells, it is necessary to weaken the body's immunity so that it does not reject them - this is too dangerous a thing for people. But scientists already know how to solve this problem:

First, cells can be confined to something likegel - with pores small enough to prevent the penetration of immune cells, but large enough to allow insulin to exit. Another idea is to use gene editing tools to modify the beta cell genes so that they can “hide” from the immune system after implantation.

Will these two solutions be effective -time will tell. Fortunately, other groups of scientists are also engaged in the development of diabetes medicines. For example, in September last year, they found out that the disease can be cured simply by blocking one protein.

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