Experimental treatment reverses diabetes in mice
Stanford scientists have come up with a new way to prevent and reverse type 1 diabetes in mice, and it's pretty exciting.
Their method mixes immune cells from both donor and patient mice, stopping diabetes before it starts—and even reversing it in diabetic mice—all without needing immunosuppressive drugs for at least four months.
How it works and why it matters
The process resets the mouse's immune system using a special combo of inhibitors, mild radiation, and antibodies, then adds healthy blood stem and islet cells from the donor.
This avoids the usual risks like immune rejection.
While finding matching donor cells is still tricky, the team hopes to use lab-grown human stem cells next.
If this works in people someday, it could mean better ways to treat type 1 diabetes—and maybe even make organ transplants safer down the line.