Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, meaning literally 'sweet siphon', refers to the excess urine production in this condition, and to the excess sugar in the urine and blood of individuals with this condition.  Type I (insulin dependent) generally occurs in children and may have a sudden onset, whereas Type II (also called insulin independent) occurs in older people and may have subtle, gradual symptoms.  In both cases, the cause is failure of the beta cells of the pancreas to produce sufficient INSULIN to prevent high levels of sugar in the blood stream.

The function of the hormone insulin, which is secreted into the blood from the pancreas, is to help dietary sugars in the blood be taken up into cells, where they can be used for energy.

 

Symptoms

The triad of polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excess urine production), and polyphagia (excessive hunger) are the characteristic symptoms of diabetes. 

Over time,  prolonged increases in blood sugar and other metabolic imbalances can lead to serious secondary changes.  These side effects include blood vessel hardening, leading to retinopathy (hemorrhaging in the retina) with loss of vision and poor circulation, eventually leading to loss of limbs; and neuropathy (nerve pain with loss of sensory perception). 

Recent data suggests that, with current treatment, two-thirds of diabetics will die from heart attack or stroke.

 

Causes

In Type I, the beta cells of the pancreas fail to produce insulin, whereas in Type II, excess demand on the beta cells lead to insulin resistance.

 

Treatment

Insulin injections and drugs are used to treat both Type I and Type II under conventional medical therapy.

 

Adult Stem Cell Research

 

Several recent articles provide hope that diabetics do not have to resign themselves to the fate of elevated sugar levels and consequent long term side effects.

1. Bone marrow-derived adult stem cells can differentiate into insulin-producing cells and reverse hyperglycemia

  • Stem cells with potential to generate insulin-producing cells in man. Zulewski H.  Swiss Med Wkly. 2007 Mar 2;137 Suppl 155:60S-67S.
  • Reversal of hyperglycemia in diabetic rats by portal vein transplantation of islet-like cells generated from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Wu XH, Liu CP, Xu KF, Mao XD, Zhu J, Jiang JJ, Cui D, Zhang M, Xu Y, Liu C. Department of Endocrinology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China<P>
  • In vivo and in vitro characterization of insulin-producing cells obtained from murine bone marrow. Tang DQ, Cao LZ, Burkhardt BR, Xia CQ, Litherland SA, Atkinson MA, Yang LJ.  Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of FloridaCollege of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA

 

2. Adult stem cells can directly reverse neuropathic pain, commonly called diabetic neuropathy

  • Intravenous mononuclear marrow cells reverse neuropathic pain from experimental mononeuropathy. Klass M, Gavrikov V, Drury D, Stewart B, Hunter S, Denson DD, Hord A, Csete M.  Department of Anesthesiology, EmoryUniversitySchool of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.<P>

 

3. Adult stem cells help with generation of new blood vessels

  • Angiogenesis and vasculogenesis: inducing the growth of new blood vessels and wound healing by stimulation of bone marrow-derived progenitor cell mobilization and homing. Velazquez OC.  J Vasc Surg. 2007 Jun;45 Suppl A:A39-47.

 

4. Adult stem cells decrease the auto-immune response associated with Type I diabetes

    Mesenchymal Stem Cells Cooperate with Bone Marrow Cells in Therapy of Diabetes Stem Cells. Urb?n VS, Kiss J, Kov?cs J, G?cza E, Vas V, Monostori E, Uher F. 2007 Oct 11; [Epub ahead of print] Stem Cell Biology.

 

Search PubMed for more articles on Diabetes and Adult Stem Cells.

 

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