Clinical trial has already entered the third phase
After infusion of stem cells, ten out of twelve study participants were able to completely abandon insulin.
Revolutionary stem therapy has shown encouraging results in the treatment of severe type 1 diabetes, reports ScienceAlert. Of the 12 participants in the clinical trial who received infusion of stem cells, ten were able to completely stop taking insulin after 12 months.
The new therapy was developed by the biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Boston, USA). Its essence is to replace lost insulin production by infusing pancreatic islet cells created from human stem cells. This method was called zimislecel.
Before the infusion, all patients underwent a course of immunosuppressive therapy, necessary to reduce the risk of cell rejection. As a result, the injected cells began to produce insulin in safe doses, automatically responding to blood glucose levels.
“These results showed that the zimislecel cells are functional and capable of self-regulation,” says the study, led by surgeon Trevor Reichman from the University of Toronto.
Side effects (mainly reduced immune defense and impaired kidney function) were associated with immunosuppression, not with the therapy itself. Unfortunately, two participants died – one from an infection after surgery, the other from complications unrelated to the treatment.
Despite this, no serious complications directly related to the introduction of the cells were recorded, so the clinical study has already entered the third phase.
The success of the therapy could be a turning point in the treatment of a disease that was until recently considered incurable.
The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.