Pigs May Hold Key to Diabetes
A breakthrough experiment using embryonic pig insulin cells could lead to a new treatment for diabetes.
In a study at Washington University in St. Louis, researchers took pig cells from very young embryos and transplanted the cells into diabetic rats. The rats, even without drugs to prevent immune rejection, adopted the pig cells as their own and produced their own insulin.
If the procedure works in humans, it could not only treat but potentially cure diabetes. The rats continued to produce insulin via the pig cells for the rest of their lives.
"We envision this technology as a means to replace insulin in type 1 diabetic humans using pig insulin -- which works just fine in humans," said Dr. Marc Hammerman, a professor of renal diseases in medicine at Washington University and leader of the study, published in the April issue of The American Journal of Physiology -- Endocrinology and Metabolism.
...more...
Anyone taking bets? |