Stem cells cure man's diabetes for 1st time ever
Doctors in Shanghai have made history by curing a 59-year-old man's type 2 diabetes using stem cell-derived islet cells—something that's never been done before.
The patient, who'd battled diabetes for 25 years and had a prior kidney transplant, received his own reprogrammed blood cells turned into insulin-making islet cells during a transplant (date not specified in the source).
Patient's progress and research team's findings
After the procedure, he stopped needing insulin and later discontinued oral medications.
At follow-up, he remained insulin-free, with healthy pancreatic and kidney function.
The team behind this breakthrough was led by Yin Hao and published their results in Cell Discovery.
Implications of this breakthrough
This isn't just one guy's good luck—it could be game-changing for millions living with diabetes.
It could reduce the need for donors or lifelong medications for some patients; this approach could seriously shake up how we treat chronic diseases going forward.