London (Ontario) woman off insulin for Type 1 diabetes after a single dose of experimental manufactured stem cells

[OnlinePoker]

Amanda Smith celebrates the day, August 1, nearly two years ago, when she stopped taking insulin to manage her type one diabetes, just a few months after getting a dose of experimental stem cells as part of a study.

“I remember, like, being scared and excited, and it’s history now,” she said.

The 36-year-old nurse and mother is part of a small, but what some call “milestone study,” of patients with Type 1 Diabetes using manufactured stem cells, designed to grow in the liver and become the full array of pancreatic islet cells that naturally control blood sugar levels.

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that of the 12 patients who received a single dose of the stem cells, it eliminated the need for insulin in 10 for at least a year and stopped episodes of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, which can lead to dangerous complications, even death. For Amanda, the treatment has been a blessing.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/woman-off-insulin-for-type-1-diabetes-after-a-single-dose-of-experimental-manufactured-stem-cells/

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A small study, but 10 out of 12 being relieved of the need to take insulin is pretty impressive. It could be a game changer.

[rampartd]

1. an absolute miracle

but no one who needs it can afford it, and "stem cells" is an attack word for the preachers.

[OnlinePoker]

5. I imagine as the technology becomes standard, it will become more affordable.

I can foresee people taking out loans for the treatment just so they don't have to pay thousands of dollars a year just for their insulin injections. I know if I was in that situation, I would go that route.

[rampartd]

15. like abortion cheap for those who can travel

[reACTIONary]

24. No one who needs it can get it, at any price....

... this was a study, It isn't commercially available as yet.

However, what you suspect may, eventually be the case: "Another question is that a single treatment therapy for this disease could come with a very high price tag. 'We’ll have to wait and see' "

We will have to wait and see.

[lostnfound]

2. There is a Japanese study that indicated that Japanese natto can help regrow islet cells

It’s fermented beans, and I find its smell and taste horrible, but someone I know started eating it daily and was able to dramatically improve blood sugar control, and appeared to be returning to his normal metabolism.

Blood sugar spikes are known to kill off the ISLET cells, and that in turn interferes with insulin production, which in turn causes blood sugar spikes, creating a reinforcing cycle.

[Lucky Luciano]

4. My son eats natto a few times a week. He loves it. My wife too.

The smell is off putting to me. It’s one of those foods that is polarizing - like cilantro.

It is a big time superfood according to my wife. Also supposed to be good for the brain. I usually don’t listen to such things unless I see a real scientific study, but all I hear about natto is good healthwise.

My wife is from Japan to be clear.

[markodochartaigh]

18. Natto contains

nattokinase, a blood thinner. Some studies say that in Northern Japan where many people eat natto daily it may decrease the risk of heart attacks. Blood thinners can be good or bad, depending upon each individual's health, but it is important know when one is taking a blood thinner, and always to mention it to your doctor.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27927636/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-48562-y

[canetoad]

25. You call it cilantro

It's called coriander here; I love it and grow it. Over the years I've met a few people who are physically repulsed by the taste and smell and discovered there is a genetic factor in this.

Good scientific article here: https://this.deakin.edu.au/self-improvement/hate-coriander-heres-the-scientific-reason-why

[Lucky Luciano]

28. Oh I always thought coriander was the seed and cilantro was the leafy part of the same plant.

I like cilantro and coriander (using the terms the way I understand them)!

[canetoad]

31. That may very well be the case

In the US. When I buy packets of seeds they are marked for leaf or for seed but they're all coriander.

[Bayard]

3. Simply amazing....

My two older sisters died of Type 1 diabetic complications. I hope this treatment saves many lives.

[murielm99]

16. My brother died of this, too.

I still miss him.

[Wonder Why]

6. Awesome news! too bad WormBrain, Jr will probably prohibit its use un the U.S.

[usedtobedemgurl]

7. I hope this helps a lot of people.

[luxmatic]

8. Not quite

Almost every “cure” the last decade or so require the use of immunosuppressant drugs. Which makes it a non-starter unless you are on those for other reasons.

[BobTheSubgenius]

9. On CBC Radio - a very factual and reliable source, in as much as I've ever heard, they had a story about 10-15 years ago

wherein a group of 32 (as I remember) diabetics were given what sounds like the same therapy, 30 of them had a result like this nurse's, and the remaining 2 had to have a second round, but all were "cured," as of that date. I was gobsmacked at the time, because stem cell therapy was far from common then, but the story sank like a stone, and I never heard any followup.

A regimen like this could save our medical system, because it pours billions into remediating diabetes, and most of the result is a Bandaid. A Bandaid that keeps millions of people alive, but uncured.. Because I'm on a pension, I'm on a program whereby, after a preset deductible is reached, my Rx are free for the rest of that year. This year, more than 6 months are going to be paid for by the system. Considering the fact that Ozempic alone is $275 a month it's a BIg Deal in my life, because I also take prophylactic meds for my artificial heart valves.

At the time of the valve replacement and patching up my heart (Staph A infection), I was literally dying in front of their eyes. I got diagnosed by a BRILLIANT diagnostician who figured out what my Mystery Ailment was and operated on in just over 2 days of arriving at ER. Try to imagine what I think of our "dysfuctional, Socialist" medical system, and I bet you'd fall short.

[Javaman]

10. The right wing sputters..

Stem cells?!???!!! The babies!!!’

We all know that not where stem cells come from, any more, but they still think so

And that’s why we can’t have nice things in this country because the hair on fire right wing fascists

[BannonsLiver]

11. Sounds promising

And I’ll take the views of actual people who work in the field vs. anonymous internet people any day of the week.

[andym]

12. There is a tradeoff: they are on immune suppressing drugs for life: which can lead to other problems

such as serious infections and cancer. Better approaches would encapsulate the newly formed beta cells in such a way that the immune system can't sense and attack them.

[Beachnutt]

13. Is this what you are referring to ?

https://ir.sana.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sana-biotechnology-announces-positive-clinical-results-type-1

[live love laugh]

14. Sadly the breakthroughs are coming from other countries now. We're racing to the bottom.

[mzmolly]

17. I hope this leads to a cure.

From the article:

"But there’s a tradeoff. The patients, however, require immune-suppressing drugs for life, so that the immune system doesn’t destroy the cells."

...

"The study also reports that two patients in the study died, one likely as a result of complications from that immunosuppression, which Dr. Reichman says underscores the need for patients to be closely monitored at experienced transplant centers. A second patient, according to the study, died of severe dementia."

[uponit7771]

21. Crap, ... wonder how aggressive the ITT was ... crap

[mzmolly]

22. Me too.

My spouse is T1, juvenile onset - has been for decades. He's considered the stem cell trials, but the immune suppressive treatments are a no go.

[DBoon]

19. I'm taking bets on Florida outlawing this treatment

Second guess is Texas

[uponit7771]

20. Even if it worked only 6 months that's incredible!!!!

[Warpy]

23. Wonderful news!

Even if the treatment has to be repeated once or twice a year in some patients, this is an amazing breakthrough.

Of course it will be hideously epensivein the beginning, especially in the US, but they seem to be moving in the right direction toward a cure.

[iluvtennis]

26. So cool 😎. Thanks so much for this post. n/t

[Akakoji]

27. Unsurprising

I still need to see the inclusion criteria, and look at what happened to the other two. Especially what and how they were measuring direct and surrogate markers. What the null hypothesis for the study was. But this is completely unsurprising in terms of the capacity of stem cells. Both Pharma and the Catholic Church want to very, very tightly control every aspect of this for monetization and power purposes. Stem cells have the ability to create life, and to save it by curing just about every ailment that affects humanity- except for self inflicted ones. As one Pharma exec said to me once when we felt we had a potential cure for AIDs, “ Why the fuck would we do that? We sell treatments.”

[IbogaProject]

34. I think they both died as a result of immune suppression

Vertex Pharmaceuticals doesn't have a good safety track record. This is basically a pilot study, worthy only as a research project.

[Akakoji]

35. So a Phase I

I need to see where it was published.

[Joinfortmill]

29. Wow

[Ilsa]

30. But immunosuppressive therapy is also required.

That could be too much for some.

[SunSeeker]

32. Maybe Justice Sotomayor should try this stuff. She has type 1.

We need her to stay healthy!

[IbogaProject]

33. Caution Vertex Pharmaceuticals doesn't have a good record

And some of those "successes" died from complications, both failures and one "success" all died from treatment complications out of 12 treated. That amounts to a 25% fatality risk. This is a proof of concept that requires immune suppressing drugs. Eventually this type of research will be successful but this isn't it. I will rather stay with the know risks of being on insulin than the risks from immune suppression and the risk that poses if medication is interrupted.

[Akakoji]

37. See my response below

Doesn't appear that even with SOC treatment these people were in the best health anyway. If the islet cells persist, however, it could be at least a justification to use this protocol in older and perhaps healthier individuals. As I mention, it would definitely be an improvement over multiple pancreas transplants.

[Akakoji]

36. Sadly, this study demonstrates how religion and monetization of survival impede stem cell research

Study listing, accepted in 2021. Most of the protocol is online. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04786262
Article in NEJM: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2506549 - https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2506549
Interesting they had to infuse directly into the hepatic portal. This is a transplant study that required a week of hospitalization during which immunosuppressive therapy was required. It's certainly more practical an approach than a multiple pancreas transplant. The entire protocol is online. All of the study participants were White.


Here are the authors peer-reviewed results:

RESULTS

A total of 14 participants (2 in part A and 12 in parts B and C) completed at least 12 months of follow-up and were included in the analyses. C-peptide was undetectable at baseline in all 14 participants. After zimislecel infusion, all the participants had engraftment and islet function, as evidenced by the detection of C-peptide. Neutropenia was the most common serious adverse event, occurring in 3 participants. Two deaths occurred — one caused by cryptococcal meningitis and one by severe dementia with agitation owing to the progression of preexisting neurocognitive impairment. All 12 participants in parts B and C were free of severe hypoglycemic events and had a glycated hemoglobin level of less than 7%; these participants spent more than 70% of the time in the target glucose range (70 to 180 mg per deciliter). Ten of the 12 participants (83%) had insulin independence and were not using exogenous insulin at day 365.