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Diabetes affects over 20 million people in the United States. Each year, there are another 30,000 new Type 1 diagnoses, over 13,000 of which are juvenile cases. The total annual cost, including both direct and indirect costs was estimated at $132 billion in 2002, with projections as high as $192 billion by 2020. New medical technologies could potentially reduce national health care expenditures and recover lost productivity in the U.S. economy.
There are currently many alternatives for treating diabetes. Insulin is most commonly administered by injection. Regular monitoring of glucose levels is necessary for an adequate diabetes treatment regimen. While many options exist, insulin therapies still fall short of maintaining regular glucose levels.
Lack of satisfactory treatment for diabetes has driven research focused on developing a bio-artificial pancreas. Scientists have been experimenting with different device designs that contain cells or cell clusters within a synthetic biocompatible semipermeable membrane. The goal of such devices is to maintain normoglycemia without the need for immunosuppression.
More recently, the use of stem cells for treatment of diabetes mellitus has the possibility of producing an unlimited supply of islet cells for transplantation, as well as the possibility of regenerating the pancreas in vivo. Due to the numerous limitations that still exist in terms of pancreatic and islet transplantation, stem cell derived insulin producing cells are at the forefront of the future of the field, although much must still be discovered before viable therapies exist.
Although no cell therapy currently exists which can eliminate the metabolic problems associated with Type 1 diabetes, there has been a long history of research that continues to persist in finding a treatment therapy that exceeds the current methods. Some of these methods are obsolete but inform current research, while other methods redefine the limits of biomedical research.
On this site, you will find an overview of the history and future of cell-based therapies for the treatment of diabetes. We hope find it both accessible and informative.
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