A new study has been conducted, giving hope to diabetes sufferers.  New methods have been discovered to free patients from the burden of taking insulin shots everyday.  A recent study made was conducted to fifteen patients with Type One Diabetes.  Type One Diabetes is occurs when the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system of the patient.  Results of the said study showed that the patients were able to overcome their insulin dependence after being treated with the use of their own stem cells.

For studies like this, a microscope for phase contrast may prove to be quite useful.  Cultured living cells and thin tissue samples are best viewed under a microscope for phase contrast.  Since living cells can be observed in their natural state, ongoing biological processes can be viewed with the help of this microscope for phase contrast.  As such, this microscope for phase contrast is a valuable tool in tissue engineering researches.  With such microscope for phase contrast, living tissues can be better scrutinized.

Going back to the reported study, the scientists who conducted the said research are hopeful that such new method would revolutionize the treatment for Type One Diabetes.  It was reported that there are about 300,000 patients suffering from this disease in Great Britain.  Those inflicted with Type One Diabetes normally have to inject themselves with the hormone called insulin.  The said hormone is responsible for controlling the blood sugar levels of the body.

The reported research was conducted in answer to the alarming findings that in the past twenty years, the number of British children under the age of five that have developed Type One Diabetes has risen to about five hundred percent.

With the efforts of US and Brazilian scientists, diabetics were administered powerful drugs in order to suppress their immune systems.  Then, stem cells were extracted from the blood of the said patients.  Stem cells are not fully formed cells that can develop to become an assortment of different adult cells.  The results showed that 14 out of the 15 patients under study were able to lose their insulin shot dependence right after treatment.  Moreover, one patient has been reported to be free from insulin shot dependence for a promising period of thirty five months.

The said research was headed by Dr. Julio Voltarelli of the University of Sao Paolo.  He said that the very encouraging results were taken from a small number of patients with early-onset disease.  Furthermore, he added that ninety-three percent of patients were able to achieve insulin dependence of varied periods and that the treatment-related toxicity was low, with no mortality.

In the said study, the immune systems of the patients were suppressed with the use of powerful drugs.  This had prevented white blood cells from attacking the pancreas, the organ which produces insulin.  Then, the patients were administered with a chemical that loosened the stem cells from their bones.  Such stem cells were extracted, collected, and then injected back into the bloodstream of the said patients.

Researchers believe that the promising result was because of the development of the stem cells into new white blood cells that did not attack the beta cells of the pancreas.  Another possible explanation is that the stem cells may have developed into new pancreatic beta cells.  Still another theory is that such procedure has stopped the destruction of the existing beta cells.Article link