Transforming Skin Cells To Insulin Producing Beta Cells To Treat Type 1 Diabetes

Credit: Catherine Twomey for The National Academies

Scientists have developed a technique that could replenish insulin producing beta cells using stem cell technology. They used skin cells and transformed them into cells that could secrete insulin. The transformed cells called PPLCs, can mimic early pancreas-like cells that can manufacture insulin.

Early testing shows that the technique is successful.

Type 1 diabetes is disease where the immune system of the body attacks and destroys beta cells in the pancreas. This results in the loss of insulin which is needed to control the blood sugar levels. If left untreated, high sugar levels can be fatal.

There is no cure for diabetes yet but it can be managed with regular glucose monitoring and insulin injections.

Because stem cells have the ability to transform into any type of cell in the body, scientists have high hopes that this may be the key to finding a cure for diabetes and other diseases. This latest discovery is a positive step in finding a permanent cure for type 1 diabetes.

Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer Through Metabolomic Analysis

A diagnostic test based on metabolites, bio-molecules produced during biological processes, has been developed that can be used as to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages.

The pancreas is the organ responsible for producing and releasing enzymes needed in the absorption of food. It is also the organ where insulin and glucagon (hormones that help regulate the body's blood sugar) are made.

The pancreas is a long gland located behind the abdomen. Detecting and diagnosing pancreatic cancer is difficult because of the organ's location. Early stages of the cancer does not cause any symptoms and the middle stage symptoms are usually varied and non-specific. Only in its later stages that pancreatic cancer is diagnosed.

Metabolomics is the science of determining the metabolome of a biological sample. Metabolomes are the collection of small organic molecules in a cell. Metabolomes represent the collection of all metabolites in a biological cell, tissue, organ or organism and are the result of cellular processes. Researchers have developed a way to use metabolimic analysis to detect early stages of pancreatic cancer.

On a related note, a 15 year old student from Maryland recently won the $75,000 top science prize for discovering a simple pancreatic test that is 90% effective (see embedded video).

Closed Loop Insulin Delivery System Improves Glucose Control And Reduces Risk of Hypoglycemia For Diabetics

Closed Loop Insulin Delivery System
Credit: BioMed Central Ltd.

A Closed Loop Insulin Delivery System improved the control of glucose levels and reduced the risk of hypoglycemia compared with conventional pump treatment in a trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Diabetes is a disease where the body has difficulty maintaining glucose levels in the blood. There is a problem with insulin production. Insulin is a hormone that regulates glucose levels. There is either too little insulin produced (or none at all) or that the body is rejecting it.

In type 1 diabetes, the body mistakenly identifies the insulin producing beta cells located in the pancreas as harmful and start attacking it. Because of this, type 1 is identified as an autoimmune disorder. This kind of disorder is hereditary and can be passed down through families.

Diabetes is a life long disease. There is still no cure for it. Despite this, diabetes can be managed. Regular insulin shots are done in lieu of the body's production process.

An important part of managing diabetes is monitoring one's blood glucose levels. Once the levels indicate a higher than normal glucose measurement, an insulin shot will help bring it down. It is important that the blood glucose levels being aimed for are as near normal as possible (that is in the range of those of a person who does not have diabetes).

A recent technology that combines both blood monitoring and insulin delivery is the closed loop insulin delivery system. The device continuously monitors the glucose levels in the blood and when it senses that the levels are too high, it automatically delivers insulin to the body.

Study On Beginnings Of Pancreatic Cancer Lead To Early Detection and Treatment

Researchers are studying the events leading to the formation of tumors in pancreatic cancer to understand the beginnings of the disease. This may lead to early detection and treatment of the disease.

Pancreatic Carcinoma (cancer of the pancreas) is one of the most difficult of cancers to treat. This type of cancer is usually detected in its later stages making recovery from it difficult to impossible.

The pancreas is a long gland that secretes digestive enzymes and the hormones insulin and glucagon. What makes detection for cancer of the pancreas difficult is that the gland is located behind the abdomen which is difficult for instruments to get to for observation.

Most of the symptoms for pancreatic cancer is nondescript such as mild pain, weight loss, fatigue and weakness, and loss of appetite. It is only when the symptoms progress that the disease is evident. One telling symptom is jaundice which is a yellowing of the eyes and skin. This happens because the bile duct is being blocked by the cancer.

New Observation On Beta Cells Opens Avenue To New Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin is a hormone used by the body to regulate glucose levels (blood sugar). The hormone helps the body use or store the blood sugar it gets from food.

Without insulin, the cells are not able to access the calories inside the glucose. Diabetes is a disease where the body has problems in maintaining its glucose levels in the blood. This happens because of one of two things, there is either too little or no insulin produced or that the body is resisting the insulin

Insulin is produced by the pancreas. When the pancreas stops making insulin, this is known as Type 1 diabetes. This means that beta cells, cells in the pancreas that stores and releases insulin in the body, are not functioning properly or has been destroyed. Generally, Type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disorder because the immune system mistakes the beta cells as harmful and start attacking it.

Type 2 diabetes is caused when the body does not respond to its own insulin. This is known as insulin resistance. Around 95% of people who suffer diabetes are Type 2 diabetes. This can be acquired, in addition of it being a hereditary condition, through obesity.

Study explains decrease in insulin-producing beta cells in diabetes

Scientists generally think that reduced insulin production by the pancreas, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, is due to the death of the organ's beta cells. However, a new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers shows that beta cells do not die but instead revert to a more fundamental, undifferentiated cell type. The findings suggest that strategies to prevent beta cells from de-differentiating, or to coax them to re-differentiate, might improve glucose balance in patients with type 2 diabetes. The study, conducted in mice was published today in the online edition of the journal Cell.

"The prevailing theory is that the death of beta cells is responsible for the decline in insulin production in type 2 diabetes," said study leader Domenico Accili, MD, professor of Medicine and the Russell Berrie Foundation Professor at CUMC. "But when you look at a diabetic pancreas, you find very few, if any, dead beta cells. So, the organ dysfunction is out of proportion with the number of dead cells. Nobody has had a plausible explanation for this."

High Sun Exposure Lowers Risk For Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas is an elongated, tapered gland that is located behind the stomach and secretes digestive enzymes and the hormones insulin and glucagon.

Pancreatic cancer is known as the silent killer. Early stages of this disease does not cause any symptoms and the middle stage symptoms are usually varied and not specific. Only until the disease has far advanced that it is diagnosed.

The disease garnered public attention when Dirty Dancing actor Patrick Swayze and Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs both suffered pancreatic cancer.

The pancreas is a large organ found behind the stomach. It is somewhat shaped like a fish and has an orange-yellow color. The pancreas makes and releases enzymes that help the body absorb food.

The pancreas also produces insulin and glucagon which help control the body's blood sugar levels. As such, people who are diagnosed with diabetes have a higher risk of getting pancreatic cancer than others.

It is unknown what causes pancreatic cancer but some people are more susceptible and at risk to this than others. These are:

• Diabetics
• Smokers
• Elderly people (women are slightly more at risk than men)
• People with chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)

Sun exposure and sun-sensitive skin type decreased risk for pancreatic cancer

High levels of ultraviolet radiation at an individual's birth location, sun-sensitive skin type and a history of skin cancer each decreased risk for pancreatic cancer, according to study results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, held here June 18-21.

Rachel Neale, Ph.D., principal investigator at Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Queensland, Australia, presented the results of a population-based, case-control study that adds to the already conflicting data about sun exposure, vitamin D gained from sun exposure and cancer risk.

"Several ecological studies, including one conducted in Australia, have suggested that people living in areas with high sun exposure have lower risk for pancreatic cancer," Neale said. "However, some studies of circulating vitamin D indicate that people with high vitamin D are at increased risk, and one study of vitamin D intake supports this increased risk."

Successful Test of Artificial Pancreas System, Hypoglycemia Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM) System For Type 1 Diabetes

In response to high levels of glucose in the blood, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas secrete the hormone insulin. Type I diabetes occurs when these cells are destroyed by the body’s own immune system.

Diabetes is a life long disease in which the body has difficulty in maintaining the high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Insulin is needed by the body to regulate glucose levels. In diabetes, there is too little insulin or the body is resisting the insulin, or both.

There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the cells that produce the insulin (beta cells) produce little or no insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced is rejected by the body.

In type 1 diabetes, the body mistakenly identifies the beta cells located in the pancreas as harmful and start attacking it. Because of this, type 1 is identified as an autoimmune disorder. This kind of disorder is hereditary and can be passed down through families.

Positive results from first human clinical trials of a first-generation artificial pancreas system

Results from the first feasibility study of an advanced first-generation artificial pancreas system were presented today at the 72nd Annual American Diabetes Association Meeting in Philadelphia. Findings from the study indicated that the Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM) System was able to automatically predict a rise and fall in blood glucose and correspondingly increase and/or decrease insulin delivery safely. The HHM System included a continuous, subcutaneous insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and special software used to predict changes in blood glucose. The study was conducted by Animas Corporation in collaboration with JDRF as part of an ongoing partnership to advance the development of a closed-loop artificial pancreas system for patients with Type 1 diabetes.

"The successful completion of this study using the HHM System in a human clinical trial setting is a significant step forward in the development of an advanced first-generation artificial pancreas system," said Dr. Henry Anhalt, Animas Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director of the Artificial Pancreas Program. "It lays the foundation for subsequent clinical trials, bringing us one step closer to making the dream of an artificial pancreas a reality for millions of people living with Type 1 diabetes."