Sensational study

Type 1 diabetes: disease cured for the first time

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(Bild: stock.adobe.com/zakalinka)

A 25-year-old Chinese woman is said to be living proof that type 1 diabetes can be cured. Responsible for this: the transplantation of her "reprogrammed" stem cells. "I can now eat sugar," the woman told Nature magazine.

More than a year has passed since the transplant, and she says: "I like to eat everything - especially stew." During the half-hour procedure, the body's own cells were manipulated so that they work as islet cells. This made it possible to restore damaged pancreatic function in the type 1 diabetes patient.

James Shapiro, a transplant surgeon and researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada, told the journal that the results of the operation were astounding. "They have completely reversed the patient's diabetes, which previously required significant amounts of insulin."

25-year-old is considered cured
The Chinese woman, who says she is cured, is said to be the first type 1 diabetic to be successfully treated with her own body cells. The transplant was performed more than a year ago and the study has now been published.

During the operation in June 2023, around 1.5 million islet cells were injected into the woman's abdomen - most of them into the liver. This ensured that the patient was able to produce insulin on her own again and no longer had blood sugar spikes.

Stem cells can be used to grow the body's own tissue and, according to Nature, can be cultivated indefinitely in the laboratory, meaning that they are potentially an unlimited source of pancreatic tissue. By using tissue produced from the body's own cells, the researchers also hope to avoid the need for immunosuppressive drugs.