Amanda Smith celebrates the day she stopped taking insulin to manage her Type 1 Diabetes, just a few months after getting the initial dose of experimental stem cells as part of a study nearly two years ago. The 36-year-old nurse and mother is part of a small but milestone study of patients with Type 1 Diabetes using manufactured stem cells designed to grow in the liver and become the full array of cells that naturally control blood sugar levels. Researchers report that of the 12 patients who received a single dose of the stem cells, 10 eliminated the need for insulin for at least a year and stopped episodes of low blood sugar. For Amanda, the treatment has been a blessing. Diagnosed with late-onset juvenile diabetes when she was 25, she was plagued with sudden bouts of low blood sugar that would leave her faint. The risk was diabetic coma or worse. Dr. Trevor Reichman, the lead author and the Surgical Director of the Pancreas and Islet Cell Transplant Program at the University Health Network in Toronto, says it's the first time that scientists have seen this kind of response with implanted stem cells. There is, however, a tradeoff. The patients require immune-suppressing drugs for life so the immune system doesn’t destroy the cells. Amanda says taking a couple of pills a day is nothing compared to dealing with insulin. The next step is for someone to produce stem cells that don’t require immune suppression, by either genetically engineering the cells or encapsulating them to make them invisible to immune attack. Several pilot studies are currently underway.
