A permanent cure for diabetes, involving pig cells, could be on the horizon.
Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in America. According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million people have the disease, and 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed every year. That’s nearly 8 percent of the population—and complications from the disease make it the seventh leading cause of death in the country.
Needless to say, diabetes is a serious problem. But now, we may have a cure on the horizon, thanks to pigs.
Researchers already know that human islet transplants can cure diabetes in some people, but “there are so few donors that only a small percentage of patients get transplants,” Marc Hammerman MD told ScienceDaily.
Now Hammerman and his team at Washington University in St. Louis have found that pig cells can have the same effect in diabetic rats. After receiving a series of injections, the rats were able to produce insulin naturally once again, without the need for anti-rejection drugs.
“Our research paves the way for a new approach to treating diabetes, one that features a virtually unlimited supply of islets and no need for immune suppression,” said Hammerman.
The Washington University team plans to run trials on primate test subjects before testing out the pig cell treatment on humans, but if all goes well, we could be looking at a cure for diabetes within the space of years.