Men with Diabetes can be treated by Testicular Cells
By Mayuri, Gaea News NetworkMonday, December 13, 2010
NEW YORK (Gaeatimes.com) — A recent study can prove very useful for the diabetic patients. Now cell extracted from the sperm cells can be used to treat diabetes in men suffering from insulin dependent diabetes.
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), in Washington, DC, said hey transformed sperm stem cells into the pancreatic cells that make insulin, without using any extra genes to turn adult stem cells into a tissue of choice.
beta cells of the pancreas produces the insulin. It has been shown that stem cells extracted from testicles can be morphed into insulin-secreting beta islet cells normally found in the pancreas, to start reversing the disease. But the tests was was carried on a immune deficient diabetic mice where they were able to decrease the rodents’ blood sugar levels for about a week - showing that the cells were producing enough insulin to reduce hyperglycemia.
More research are yet to be done whether this technique will produce the same result in humans as that in mice. If it can, then this new discovery can be potential in treatment for type 1 diabetes.
