DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #41: New Therapy Aims To Cure Type 1 Diabetes (By rebuilding insulin cells and training the immune system to protect them!); Type 2 Using Stem Cells To Regrow Islet of Langerhans Cells Promising…

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: A daring new therapy aims to cure type 1 diabetes by rebuilding insulin cells — and training the immune system to protect them.

WHOA!!!

This has been something the Community has been talking about for years! Currently, at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), researcher Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D. somehow re-starting the pancreas to produce insulin for Type 1 diabetics.

The team specializes in modifying the immune system using chimeric antigen receptors. These receptors help guide “regulatory T cells” or Tregs, to specific targets in the body. These Tregs are important in keeping immune responses under control. The immune response is the body’s way of sending “troops” to destroy infections – colds, flu, and germs that get into your body through cuts and even surgery. Type 1 is a “mistake” of the body that leads to it attacking itself.

In simple terms, immune system (white blood cells, act like bodyguards, preventing the immune system from going too far and harming healthy tissue.

By combining stem cell biology, gene editing, and immune regulation, the team is developing more than a single therapy. They are building a framework for teaching the body to repair itself. If successful, this work could eventually free patients from daily insulin injections and shift type 1 diabetes care from lifelong management to a true cure.

"I think this can change how medicine is done," Ferreira said. "Instead of treating symptoms, we can actually replace the missing cells. By doing this work, we are likely to further understand how T1D starts, how it develops and how it can be treated."

Likewise, there have been advances in treating Type 2 research. “The Stem Cell Medical Center of Antigua has expertise and cutting-edge approaches that go beyond symptom management to address the root causes of this challenging condition. Stem cell therapy DOES show great promise, but it’s essential to approach any new treatment with informed caution. Recent breakthroughs, including a case where a patient’s diabetes was effectively cured through stem cell-derived islet transplantation, offer hope for the future. For now, stem cell therapy is viewed as a potential way to significantly improve diabetes management and quality of life for some patients.”

Links: (T1) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260302030648.htm#:~:text=Researchers%20are%20developing%20a%20two,protect%20them%20from%20autoimmune%20attack;
(T2) https://stemcellmedicalcenter.com/treatments/endocrine-metabolic-diabetic/diabetes-type-2-can-stem-cells-succeed-where-traditional-treatments-fail/#:~:text=In%20a%20groundbreaking%20case%20reported,Generating%20functional%20pancreatic%20islet%20cells

Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg