JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

A JDRF-funded clinical trial by researchers in America and China has used stem cells from umbilical cord blood to ‘re-educate’ the immune cells that cause type 1 diabetes.

By targeting the autoimmune response that attacks beta cells in type 1 diabetes, researchers aimed to improve beta cell function in people with the disease and enable them to resume insulin production.

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“Stem cell tourism” is a term that has recently emerged to describe the increasing number of people heading overseas for medical stem cell treatments that are not approved or available in Australia.

In Australia, and many other countries around the world, stem cell therapy is only approved to treat blood disorders such as leukemia. Whilst research is moving rapidly and showing great promise, the use of any type of stem cell as a therapy for diseases like type 1 diabetes is still firmly classed as experimental. This doesn’t mean these therapies won’t work, just that scientists and clinicians have deemed there isn’t enough data available to demonstrate patient safety as well as a long term benefit.

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In a major breakthrough for stem cell science, scientists have converted umbilical cord blood cells into cells that act like embryonic stem cells.

For many years, the human umbilical cord has always been touted as potential source of cells to cure a number of conditions including type 1 diabetes, cancer and Parkinson’s disease. Whilst the umbilical cord contains a large number of stem cells, the cells have already progressed down the developmental pathway meaning their use has been very limited.

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