BOSTON (WHDH) - Researchers at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston say a single infusion of stem cell-based treatment could be a permanent solution for insulin. They say it has been tested on 12 patients, and a year later, 10 of them no longer needed insulin injections.
The other two required lower doses.
“The benefit that these individuals are seeing from the therapy is profound,” said Dr. Felicia Pagliuca of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
The new treatment involves stem cells being used to create Islet cells, which are used to regulate blood sugar levels.
Those new cells are then unfused into the patient’s liver.
“The cells are protected by immunosuppression, and the patients are doing well on the study to date,” said Dr. Pagliuca.
Roughly two million people in the U.S. have type one diabetes and insulin injections are the main treatment for the disease, and can be costly.
“That drug has a very narrow therapeutic index,” said Dr. Pagliuca.
Controlling insulin levels is a constant concern for diabetes patients.
Elevated blood sugar levels can damage organs like the heart and the kidneys, while drops in blood sugar can cause seizures.
Doctors for Vertex hope this new treatment method will not only help with managing the disease, but ease the burden of the treatment itself.
“When we can intervene in the causal biology, the real root cause of the disease, in a way and restore that natural solution, you can remove those kinds of problems. And more importantly, for people living with the disease … Day in and day out,” said Dr. Pagliuca.
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