stem cells from cord blood helps Type 1 diabetes

stem cells from cord blood helps Type 1 diabetes
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240160.php
Dr. Yong Zhao, from the Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago, published
an article Jan 10, 2012, with the online journal BMC Medicine. Dr. Zhao
and colleagues "re-educated" stem cells from cord blood in a procedure
they termed "Stem Cell Educator therapy." The diabetic's blood is
circulated through a closed loop system that separates lymphocytes
from the whole blood and co-cultures them with healthy cord blood
stem cells for 2-3 hours and the "re-educated" lymphocytes are then
returned to the diabetic's circulation. With type 1 diabetes, insulin
producing beta cells are damaged by immune T cell lymphocytes.
In the phase 1/phase 2 study, 15 type 1 patients were used with the
average age of 29 (range 15 to 41 years old) with an average length
of 8 years (range 1 to 21 yrs) with the disease. 3 of the 15 were controls.
Half of the patients had some residual beta cell function with a decrease
in insulin dependence of 38%. The other half had no residual beta cell
function but insulin dependence was decreased by 25%. All the patients
who received the Stem Cell Educator therapy showed improved levels
of C-peptide, which is a biomarker that is used to measure how well beta
cells are working.
This is encouraging news towards the cure of type 1 diabetes. When
insulin dependence is cut to 0%, that is the cure. My parents regret they
didn't have my cord blood stored since I developed type 1 diabetes at
the age of three and stem cells seem to be the most likely source for a cure.
It's good they can use donor stem cells, but the article does not mention anything
about donor compatibility being a concern.