# Cure for Type 1 Diabetes Imminent after Harvard Stem-cell Breakthrough **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996 "2014-10-10T20:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/1 "2014-10-10T20:42:00Z")
“A cure for diabetes could be imminent after scientists discovered how to make huge quantities of insulin-producing cells, in a breakthrough hailed as significant as antibiotics.” > **[Technology Intelligence](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/)** > > Tech news and expert opinion from The Telegraph's technology team. Read articles and watch video on the tech giants and innovative startups. This would be great news if it were true. Anyone think it is believable? (I am rather cynical about news of medical breakthroughs anymore–they seldom turn out to deliver on the hype). ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/2 "2014-10-10T21:38:21Z")
I have so many relatives with diabetes. This would be so awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/3 "2014-10-10T22:24:54Z")
It’s hopeful, but it hasn’t reached human trials yet. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/4 "2014-10-10T23:44:20Z")
One thing to recall is that type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease. So even if you could regrow those cells, they might get attacked again. Many a slip… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/5 "2014-10-11T00:16:51Z")
Speaking as someone with type I-like diabetes and NO autoimmunity, I’m following the news closely. Obviously there’s still a way to go, but I agree with the assessment that this is a major breakthrough. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/6 "2014-10-11T00:38:53Z")
This is a tremendous breakthrough. My wife and I wept at the news. Our son has had diabetes for 16 years. This breakthrough depended on embryonic stem cells. I raise a hearty finger to those who undermined and interfered with such research along the way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/7 "2014-10-11T04:28:02Z")
I hope I live long enough to see this come to fruition. Not diabetic myself, but have loved ones who are- and ones who were before they died of it. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/8 "2014-10-11T13:31:15Z")
Type 1 diabetic here. I see headlines like these at least twice a year, with several mini-updates and mini-breakthroughs in between. I still see no cure. Whatever. I’ll believe it when my doc gives me a call to schedule the appointment for me to come in for The Cure. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/9 "2014-10-11T13:35:45Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > One thing to recall is that type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease. So even if you could regrow those cells, they might get attacked again. Many a slip… And yeah, this. From what I’ve heard previously, they’ve been able to transplant working beta cells from a healthy patient to a T1 for a while now. But the body just destroys those the same way it destroyed the original ones. I’m personally more excited about the work being done at [Faustman Lab](http://www.faustmanlab.org/). They’re in human trials with an inexpensive generic drug that seems to be working pretty well at controlling the T cells that attack insulin-producing beta cells. Once those are in check, I’ve read many studies that indicate that beta cells will grow back on their own. Maybe the ultimate solution will be some hybrid of the two studies. Who know? Like I said, I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/10 "2014-10-11T14:46:47Z")
I haven’t seen the article in _Cell_, but I’d bet the authors don’t say that a “cure” is “imminent”. Once we get long-term productive function in humans, the hype will be justified. Besides, medical advances aren’t truly a game-changer until they’re reported in the Daily Mail. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/11 "2014-10-12T10:27:48Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I see headlines like these at least twice a year, with several mini-updates and mini-breakthroughs in between. > > I still see no cure. > > Whatever. I’ll believe it when my doc gives me a call to schedule the appointment for me to come in for The Cure. I think the same thing. “Could be…” '…imminent…" two weasel words in the same sentence bodes ill, IMHO. It reminds me of Paul Harvey’s column which came out every two years saying that electrical cars would probably be coming out ‘in two years’. Hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/12 "2014-10-12T13:06:33Z")
I’m wondering how they get their diabetic animals… do they take a healthy animal and stimulate its autoimmune system so that it destroys the insulin-producing cells? Do they go in and manually kill the cells? Do they breed a generation of animals that have no ability to produce insulin? I’ll hold off on my excitement until we see the results in human trials, and, like **Athena,** I’ll be waiting for the call from every doctor I’ve had since I got this phone number, saying “DO IT NOW.” ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/13 "2014-10-12T13:38:33Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’m wondering how they get their diabetic animals… do they take a healthy animal and stimulate its autoimmune system so that it destroys the insulin-producing cells? Do they go in and manually kill the cells? Do they breed a generation of animals that have no ability to produce insulin? I know that when Banting and Best first figured out insulin, they would remove dog’s pancreases to produce diabetic dogs for experimentation. Given how I feel about my own dogs, it pains me to know they did that (and killed the dogs afterwards.) But I am happy for the insulin, obviously. [The Discover of Insulin](http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Insulin-Michael-Bliss-ebook/dp/B00BK176NW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413121082&sr=8-2&keywords=the+story+of+insulin) is a pretty good read, and talks a lot about the techniques they used. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/14 "2014-10-12T18:11:37Z")
I’m not up on all of the latest research, but I know I read an article back in the late 90s where they were discussing the idea of implanting pig beta cells encased in porous plastic. The pores would be big enough to let through nutrients (keeping the cell alive), sugar (so they could sense the blood sugar), and insulin, but too small to allow antibodies through. The problem back then was getting enough good beta cells - grinding up pig pancreases and separating out the beta cells was just way too time-consuming and expensive. Now, if this research pans out, they will have a ready source of beta cells. I don’t see offhand why they couldn’t combine the two approaches. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-type-1-diabetes-imminent-after-harvard-stem-cell-breakthrough/700996/15 "2014-10-12T18:59:41Z")
Unfortunately, the same headline turned up in 2007. At least progress is being made. Type 1 Diabetes takes too many people, too young. I lost my intended to complications from diabetes.