Scientists from Harvard University have announced significant progress in the treatment of diabetes involving the re-programming of lower stomach cells to act as insulin-producing beta-like cells, meaning the frequent use of insulin injections could be avoided in certain cases. The study, published today in Nature Communications, is a collaboration between researchers at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH), which was led by Dr. David Sinclair, who also holds an appointment with
Scientists from Harvard University have announced significant progress in the treatment of diabetes involving the re-programming of lower stomach cells to act as insulin-producing beta-like cells, meaning the frequent use of insulin injections could be avoided in certain cases. Although researchers have yet to discover a method to apply results yielded from genetically engineered mice to the human body, it is believed that such processes will allow physicians to conduct patient-specific treatments by growing and reproducing insulin-releasing cells from biopsy samples.