Diabetes breakthrough: Insulin-producing cells formed using malaria drugs
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. More specifically, the bodys own immune system stops recognizing the beta cells normally responsible for producing insulin. Instead, it attacks and destroys them.
Without insulin - which normally tells the body to start reducing the levels of glucose - the blood sugar cannot enter the cells, where it is normally transformed into energy. As a result, glucose gets stuck in the bloodstream, leading to diabetes.
For decades, scientists have been trying to find a way to replace these beta cells - sometimes referred to as islet cells because they are located in an endocrine area of the pancreas known as the islets of Langerhans.
Researchers have attempted to replace destroyed beta cells with new ones using stem cells and adult cells. Although the results have looked encouraging, they have yet to succeed.
Now, researchers from the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine in Austria seem to have found the missing link, giving hope of a cure for type 1 diabetes.
A team of researchers - led by Stefan Kubicek, group leader at CeMM - examined the role of a variety of approved drugs on alpha and beta cell transformation. Their findings were published in the journal Cell.
In addition to beta cells, alpha cells and three other types of cells form the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, where they are responsible for regulating blood sugar levels.
Medical News Today
