Scientist on Their Way to Finding a Cure for Type-1 Diabetes

It's no secret that scientists have been trying to find a cure for type-1 diabetes, which usually onsets in childhood, for a long time.  According to a Science Daily article, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have made large strides to learning how to make type-1 diabetes more manageable. Type-1 diabetes causes the body to attack beta-cells which help the pancreas create insulin.   Although this type of diabetes can be controlled, the constant insulin shots and blood sugar monitoring is more than enough to change and inconvenience any child's life. These scientists decided to research and test skin cells which they would modify into endoderm cells in hopes that they could create new beta-cells to replace the old destroyed ones.  Since these endoderm-like cells are the embryonic cells, which typically develop into major organs, are not yet compartmentalized these scientists hope the endoderm-cells can be "trained" to perform a beta-cell job.  The researchers injected genetically modified endoderm-like cells into mice with high glucose levels which mimic the conditions of type-1 diabetes.  The mice glucose levels became regulated and these endoderm-like cells seemed to have begun to take on beta-cell role is insulin secretion.

Insulin and Needle

I believe that these researchers are on their way to discovering something amazing.  Children everyday are diagnosed with type-1 diabetes and their lives are changed forever.  They can no longer be children and live their life as carefree as their friends.  Type 1 diabetes is thought to be genetically and environmentally influenced which makes in an unexpected diagnosis.  As a daughter of someone with diabetes I understand the important on controlling insulin levels and the SEVERE dangers and having those levels go too high and too low.  If there was an easier way, perhaps even a cure, for this awful disease I would 100% be in support of it.

Article Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140206133640.htm

Related Link: http://jdrf.org/about-jdrf/fact-sheets/type-1-diabetes-facts/
http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/32/151/826