How Can Stem Cells Help Cure Diabetes?
One of the most promising ways of curing diabetes is to biologically restore the function of islet cells. At the present time, this can occur either through islet cell transplantation or through engineering of cells to restore the insulin secreting function. In both instances, the availability of stem cells would significantly expedite research progress. Islet cell transplantation has been largely unsuccessful for two important reasons: insufficient islets available for transplantation and recurrence of the autoimmune response that attacks the islets after transplantation.
